


Where it Happened

by Sariasprincy



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medical, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, Everyone is a surgeon ok, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Heartbreak, I Watched Too Much Grey's Anatomy, It is Grey's Anatomy after all, Medical Trauma, Medicine, Original Character Death(s), Smut, Surgeon!Itachi, Surgeon!Sakura, Surgeons, Surgery, grey's anatomy!au, mentioned domestic violence, so much drama, there is smut too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:55:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 95,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24738031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sariasprincy/pseuds/Sariasprincy
Summary: He was the new head of Cardio and her new boss, and though she thought him a little full of himself, it seemed there was more to the famed Dr. Uchiha Itachi than he led on. Not that she could claim her life was that uncomplicated either.ItaSaku. Modern AU. Grey's Anatomy AU. Rated M for adult themes.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Itachi, Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Nara Shikamaru/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 36
Kudos: 138





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It just occurred to me that I haven't transferred this story over from FF.net yet, so I will be trying to get it all uploaded soon. Enjoy!

_**Where it Happened** _   
_**part i** _

Adrenaline was making the blood roar in Haruno Sakura's ears. Her heart was pounding almost painfully against her ribs, but she ignored it in favor of focusing on the patient open on her table. It was a race against the clock, a fight to keep the tear in her patient's aorta from rupturing and causing further, fatal damage.

"Dammit! Give me another clamp," Sakura ordered.

She held her hand out for the tool but her emerald gaze never wavered from the tear she could see threatening to widen in the major artery. With practiced ease, she worked quickly to slow the bleeding before she held out her hand for the stitch that would hopefully keep the artery closed until the patient could receive a new valve. The first suture was strong but the rest were refusing to hold and she cursed again as she did her best to keep herself and the bleeding under control. One slight mistake, one slight change in her patient's current condition and they would finish this surgery with their patient in the morgue rather than the ICU.

"Will someone please explain to me what exactly my patient is doing on your table."

His entrance had gone unnoticed with the desperation of her situation, but there was no denying the icy undertone and smooth, cold fury in Uchiha Itachi's voice. Sakura glanced up briefly to meet the dark, hard gaze of her boss. He was glaring at her over the surgical mask he held to his nose and mouth but their contact quickly broke as she called for another clamp and resumed her attempted stitching.

"I paged you three times," she returned, her tone even but relaying her impatience at his delay.

"He was not scheduled for surgery until the morning." His tone made his authority very clear and she felt her heart pulse just a little harder beneath her breastbone.

"I know. But your patient's heart started dissecting during an MRI and I can't get these stitches to hold, so if you're done pouting at me, I could really use your hands."

Tense silence met her words. She could feel Itachi's glare burning into her, but she ignored him as she worked as quickly as she could. The patient was losing blood faster than they could restore it. She needed help and she needed it minutes ago.

Eventually she heard him move. "Let me scrub."

"You don't have time."

She looked up again to meet his gaze as she did her best to silently relay the seriousness of their patient's condition. He held her gaze for only one heartbeat before he turned to the nurse next to him, his fingers already tying his mask in place. "Gown."

In seconds, Itachi was gowned, gloved and across the table from her as he took in the damage before him. His experienced eyes were able to trace the line of tearing in the artery and the suturing Sakura had been attempting and failing. He heard her growl quietly in the back of her throat as her latest stitch was unsuccessful.

"Suction," he ordered. He accepted the small tube from the scrub nurse and worked quickly to clear as much blood out of the way for her as possible. To his surprise, however, Sakura didn't continue to suture; instead she set her needle down as she paused. He looked up at her sharply. "If you are unable to finish, let me take over."

She merely held up a bloodied glove at him. "I'm thinking. Give me a second."

"This patient does not have a second."

But she seemed not to hear him as she gazed thoughtfully over his shoulder, her green eyes dancing back and forth as she mentally weighed her options. He was about to take over for her anyway when she glanced at the scrub nurse. "Do we have nylon stitches?"

"Yes, doctor."

Her eyes brightened with the answer. "Good. I'm going to need them."

The nurse quickly got to work making it ready for her, but Itachi's gaze only narrowed at the doctor across from him. "Nylon stitches do not hold for long in a heart."

"I know," she said, returning her gaze to him. "But this aorta can't handle steel sutures in its current condition. Every time I throw a stitch, it tears. I'm going to have to double-up."

His brow furrowed thoughtfully as he returned his gaze back to the task at hand. It was possible she could get the sutures to hold with a double stitch, but she would have to work fast in time to keep the nylon from breaking and to prevent further tearing of the valve. They had already wasted enough time.

"You complete the nylon suturing and I will follow behind you with the steel," Itachi said, gazing up at her.

Sakura's brow arched curiously. "Can you throw a left-handed stitch?"

He was on the wrong side of the table to be able to use his dominant hand, but he merely smirked at her behind his mask as he shot her a challenging look. "Can't you?"

Her eyes narrowed in amusement, but their contact was broken as she accepted the nylon stitch from the scrub nurse. Itachi handed off the suction to another assistant before he too took up a suture, and together the pair got to work.

xx

A soft sigh escaped Sakura as she rubbed at her shoulder absently. She tried not to slouch on the bench provided in the Attendings' Changing Room, but after heading such an intense, high-energy surgery, she couldn't help the slight hunch of her back as her body came down from the adrenaline high.

It had been a long night. She needed water, food and sleep – all in that order. The soles of her feet ached, but she was used to the pain and almost welcomed it, knowing that the soreness meant that her energy had been well-spent attempting to save the lives of complete strangers.

"Nice work in there, Haruno."

Glancing towards the doorway, she found her boss leaning against the frame, his arms crossed loosely and his expression calm but otherwise unreadable. Itachi easily stood an entire head over her and nearly took up the entire doorway. The gown he had worn in the operating room was gone, leaving him in the dark blue scrubs that identified him as an attending. It showed off his lean form. He was muscular but not overly so, and she tried not to notice how the coloring of the material accentuated the long, raven hair he had pulled back in a low ponytail at the nape of his neck or how it brought attention to his striking, obsidian gaze.

He had come to work for their hospital nearly a week earlier and though he was the new Head of Cardio and her new boss, they'd had little interaction since he had started. It turned out her best friend and an attending in general surgery, Yamanaka Ino, had been right. He was stunningly gorgeous. Even more so without that cool demeanor all the nurses kept chatting about.

She could only assume the rumors of him being a Cardiac Genius were true as well. There had been gossip about his many achievements over the years, and though she hadn't yet had time to confirm or familiarize herself with his history, if half of it were true, she knew there was a great deal she could learn from him. After all, it wasn't every day that a member from the legendary Uchiha family came to work for their hospital.

"Thanks," Sakura smiled tiredly as she fought her yawn. She must have been going on hour thirty of her shift.

"A heart dissection is very hard to catch and even harder to prevent," Itachi murmured. His voice was low with the lateness of the hour but it easily carried across the room to her. "If I may inquire, how many cases have you seen in the past?"

She frowned thoughtfully at his line of questioning and shrugged. "Somewhere around thirty."

"And how many have you saved?"

It was a moment before she answered. "Including the one today, two."

Her answered weighed heavily in the room. They were both well-versed in cardiac conditions and knew the high fatality rate of the surgery they had just performed. It was even more extraordinary they had come out successful given the obvious exhaustion etched into Sakura's face, and Itachi felt a sudden swell of respect for the young doctor in front of him.

He had spoken to her in passing only a handful of times since the beginning of his employment within the hospital and though he had heard the rumors of her skilled hands and quick-wit, he had chosen to reserve his judgments about her until he had witnessed them himself. He was pleased to find the attending lived up to the stories.

"I received a call some hours ago from UNOS," he said, recapturing her attention. "They have a heart for the critical patient upstairs. It should be arriving in the morning. Would you care to join me in the OR at 0800?"

As all surgeons did, she perked up at the invitation of a high-profile surgery and the slight slouch to her shoulders straightened as a smile spread across her face. "I'd love to."

"Excellent. Get some rest and I will see you in the morning then."

Pushing off the doorway, Itachi turned to leave only to pause as one last thought occurred to him. "Oh, and Haruno?" She glanced up at him expectantly, her smile still lingering. "Speak to me like that in an OR again and I will bench you for a month."

Her excited expression vanished. She wanted to point out that he was the one who was late in responding to an emergency page as she battled an impossible surgery but she bit her tongue as she met his gaze with hard, emerald eyes. She said nothing.

With a single nod, he turned away. "See you in the morning."

He then exited the room, but not before he heard her annoyed mutter: "Ass."

His steps faltered, but he didn't turn back to her as he made his way to the surgical board. It wasn't until he was halfway down the hall that he realized a smirk had taken up residency upon his face.

Normally Itachi would not have let such a remark made by one of his subordinates go so easily, but he had been quite impressed with her work today and he found her unwillingness to bend to him refreshing from his previous attendings, all of whom had either worshipped the ground he walked on or steered clear of him like the plague. It seemed there was more to Haruno Sakura than her pink hair and cheerful smile, and so he would allow her to get away with her insult; but he was going to thoroughly enjoy pushing her to her limits.

_**tbc...** _


	2. Chapter 2

**_Where it Happened  
_ ** **_part ii_ **

A soft breath passed between Sakura's lips as she roused from her sleep. She woke slowly and a bit confused as she became aware that neither her alarm nor her pager had pulled her from her rest. It was then that she realized she was not alone in the small bed in the hospital on-call room and with groggy movements, she rolled over until she could peer through the darkness at the figure next to her.

It was Uzumaki Naruto. He was on his back on top of the covers with his hands draped across his stomach as he stared absently at the ceiling. Through the darkness, she could see he was dressed in his scrubs, his shoes still on as he traced the shadows on the wall, a dejected look on his face.

"Hey," she murmured sleepily. She was unperturbed at finding the male in bed with her; it was something Naruto had been doing since they had been in medical school together when he was upset or just needed silent company. "Rough night?"

In the quiet, she heard him take a deep breath but his bright blue gaze never wavered from the unlit overhead light. "Yeah," he murmured after a moment. "My baby died this morning."

A frown fell across her face at the news of the little patient he had been working to save every day for nearly two weeks since it had been born. She knew Naruto was a great pediatric surgeon, but even she had been doubtful of the infant's survival when he had first described its condition to her. Nevertheless, she pulled her arm out from under the covers and laid it over his own. They were doctors, they would move on, but for now she would offer him comfort until the next case came along.

"Is your shift over?" she asked after a moment.

He huffed humorlessly. "My shift ended yesterday. I'm supposed to be in surgery in a couple of hours." With her hand on his chest, she didn't miss the quiet yawn at the end of his sentence. "What about you?"

"Mm…what time is it?"

"Quarter to six."

Rolling over onto her back, Sakura stretched before she pushed herself up and wiped at the mascara that was sure to be smudged under her eyes. "I'm helping cover the pit this morning. Need to be there soon."

"Sounds like fun," he murmured insincerely. "Tell 'Kashi I say hi."

Sakura smiled fondly at the male before she stood from the bed and reached for her scrub top. She pulled it on over her undershirt before she gazed back at her longtime friend again. His eyes had slipped closed and she knew he was close to falling asleep with his slow, steady breathes. Quietly she pulled on her athletic shoes and murmured a soft 'good night' before she stepped out of the room, ensuring the door closed soundlessly behind her.

The hospital was already bustling with activity, even given the early morning hour. Nurses were updating attendings while residents and interns received their orders for the day. Sakura easily skirted around them, stopping in the attending's changing room to properly fix her makeup before she headed down towards the pit.

As always, she made a quick stop in front of the surgical board to see which surgeries were lined up for the day. She was working on pulling her hair up into a secure bun as she read when she heard a familiar voice: "-well let's just say I wouldn't say I wouldn't rush out of an on-call room if he came in."

With a smile forming on her face, Sakura turned to find Ino and Tenten, an attending in Orthopedics, leaning against a nurses' station as they gazed down the hall. Silently she walked up behind them and leaned over Ino's shoulder to see who had become the topic of their obviously inappropriate conversation. To her disappointment, she found their gazes were locked on none other than Itachi himself.

He was standing at the other end of the hall, speaking to a third-year resident. Even from this distance, Sakura could see the poor woman's nervousness as she accepted his orders and she was unable to hide her audible scoff, "Please don't tell me you two have the hots for him too."

The pair jumped and whipped around only to relax as they recognized her. "Dammit, Sakura," Ino complained. She brushed her long, blonde ponytail back over her shoulder before she crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter. "Where the hell did you come from? And what does it matter if we have the hots for him? Half the women in this hospital do."

Sakura sighed, but there was a smile playing about her lips. "That's because half the women in this hospital are unattached and haven't yet had the _pleasure_ of working with him. He may be hot, but his arrogance his definitely worse than his reputation precedes."

Ino merely shrugged. "Maybe he's one of those cool-and-arrogant on the streets, hot-and-steamy in the sheets types."

Tenten giggled as Sakura fought back her smile. Her best friend was such a flirt it was to the point of ridiculousness. "Didn't you have a date or something last night?"

Her question forced a low groan from the gorgeous woman as Tenten attempted to bite back her laugh, "Apparently, he was a high school dropout."

"What!"

"It's not the dropout part I had a problem with," Ino defended. "I get it; shit happens. Hell, I dropped out of high school for a year before going back. But it's the fact that he dropped out, never went back and then started his own business, which apparently went bankrupt like five years ago – something he conveniently forgot to mention – and is now living at home." She crossed her arms over her chest with an agitated sigh. "He actually asked if I wanted to get a drink at his place. I would rather stitch my own wound with a rusty needle."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the woman's misfortune, but whatever response she was about to make was left unsaid as the very resident that had been speaking to Itachi suddenly rushed past. The three women perked up and watched as she hurriedly disappeared down the hall before they glanced at each other.

"I wonder what that was about?" Tenten murmured.

Sakura looked to where she had last seen Itachi to find him reading a chart nonchalantly. There was a set to his shoulders and a way in which he held himself that made her mouth purse in automatic annoyance. She got the impression he was intimidating the residents just to mark his territory or at the very least make his superiority known, as if the color of his scrubs weren't indication enough, but she merely watched him as he turned away and disappeared down the opposite end of the hall.

"She just finished talking to Sir Glares-alot. What do you think it was about?"

Both Tenten and Ino snorted at the nickname. "I can see you're real fond of him," the brunette said humorously as she glanced at her watch. "Anyway, I should go make sure my resident is prepping my patient for surgery. I'll see you later."

They murmured a farewell to Tenten and watched her leave before Sakura turned back to her blonde friend. She was looking at her expectantly. "What?" Sakura asked.

Ino merely shrugged. "You seem rather intolerant of your new boss. Any particular reason?"

Her blue eyes were piercing, and Sakura quickly shot her a look. "I know what you're thinking, and no, he doesn't remind me of Gaara. I just don't like arrogant men who strut around here like they own the damn place."

"I'm just saying it seems like you judged him quicker than you normally would," she said, holding up her hands. "It's possible you're right and he is just a gorgeous bastard, but it's also possible there's more to him than what we've seen. Not everyone is like how Gaara was."

Sakura frowned as her friend walked away, her blonde hair swaying behind her. She tried not to let their conversation ruin her mood, but the reminder of the redheaded Neurosurgeon she had once shared a bed with a number of years ago had left a bad taste in her mouth. She found herself unconsciously glaring as she turned and made her way towards the pit. Her time spent with Gaara was not a fond memory and annoyance simmered in her chest that Ino had brought up the very topic she hated to discuss. By the time she walked into the ER, she was almost relieved to find doctors and nurses rushing about wildly as they tended to what appeared to be half a dozen traumas.

"Haruno, I need you!"

She glanced towards Hatake Kakashi, their Head of Trauma, as he helped push a patient towards a trauma room. Immediately she followed him as she finished tying on her trauma gown. "What do we got?" she asked as she slipped on her gloves.

"A twenty-three-year-old male was hit by a bus. Massive injuries to his chest and abdomen," Kakashi said as they got the man settled and began cutting the rest of his clothes away. "It's going to be a long one."

That, she was grateful for.

xx

Itachi navigated the long corridors of the surgical ward in silence. There were a handful of nurses and residents doing evening rounds, but none disturbed him as he walked, his attention focused on the chart in his hand. In fact, many of them seemed to scurry out of his path as he approached, but he didn't pay them any mind as he continued on. He had surgery in an hour and there was another case he was needed to consult on before he could begin.

Rounding the corner, he ventured down the series of halls that would take him to the elevator that would lead him directly to Emergency Room. He rounded a nurses' station and was about pass the surgical board when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Slowing, he glanced up from his chart only to draw to a complete halt when he saw the slot his surgery had been written in only hours before was not only empty, but was now being written in with an entirely different surgery.

He recognized the head of Trauma immediately. "Hatake, I have a surgery scheduled in that OR in an hour."

The silver-haired male stopped writing to glance over his shoulder at him. "The head nurse took it off. I had assumed it was free to use?"

"The head nurse?" he asked. His tone was sharp, betraying his annoyance. "Who gave them the authority? Where are they?"

Kakashi said nothing. He merely nodded toward the nurses' station and Itachi followed his gaze until he spotted a woman a few years his junior standing behind the desk. She was sorting through paperwork but looked up expectantly upon his approach. "Doctor Uchiha, right?"

He tried not to glare at the woman. "I had surgery scheduled in OR 3 in an hour. Why was it removed from the board?"

Her brow arched in surprise. "Billing said they were going to call you. They said we had to cancel the surgery due to your patient's insurance being revoked."

"Revoked?" he repeated, his anger suddenly gone.

Immediate dread filled him as he recalled his patient's mother telling them that their insurance had been giving them trouble lately. He had done his best to push the surgery forward as quickly as possible to get the procedure done before the family had to choose between either being stuck in unfathomable debt for the rest of their life or forced to deny their child the lifesaving surgery he needed. He could only guess what they had been pressed to do.

"Dammit," Itachi cursed.

Without pause, he dropped the chart he had been reading onto the nurses' station before he returned down the halls he had just come. He rushed towards the center elevator banks and waited impatiently for the lift to arrive before he hurriedly made his way up to the pediatric ward. Upon arriving at his patient's room, he found the young child sitting in bed, dressed and watching his mother as she packed up their personal belongings. She looked so dejected he could physically feel the emotion in the room.

"I just heard what happened."

The woman stopped her packing and looked up at him. She pursed her lips to hide their waver before she took a deep breath. "We all saw this coming. The insurance has been giving us trouble ever since…" she trailed off as her voice cracked slightly. "Ever since Haru's father got injured at work. We thought we could just pay for the surgery ourselves, but the hospital is telling us that our income is too low to cover even the lowest monthly payment plans."

She glanced at her son and Itachi followed her gaze to see the young boy had taken to playing with one of his many stuffed toys. He was far too young to understand their conversation or even comprehend the current situation, and against his better judgment Itachi felt his heart go out to the family. He knew not to get his emotions involved, but he knew this family would not have flown out to this hospital if it hadn't been for him. He had encouraged them to come see him after he had temporarily moved his practice across the country and he knew he could not just allow them to get on an expensive flight without helping their son first. It was amazing he had survived the journey there at all.

"We may have one other option," Itachi finally said.

The young mother gazed up at him with timid hope shining in her eyes. "There is?"

"Yes," he nodded. "However, it may take me some time to get the paperwork together. Would you mind waiting just a little longer?"

"The nurse already said she was bringing us our discharge papers."

"Do not sign them. If anyone tries to discharge you, have them page me," he told her. "I will return as soon as I can."

A frown settled upon the woman's face, but eventually she nodded, her hands going slack on the backpack she had been filling. Once he was sure they would stay, Itachi backed out of the room, sliding the door closed behind him, before he took off deeper into the heart of the hospital. He had been to the Chief of Surgery's office only a handful of times previously, but he recalled the fastest route and made his way there with hurried steps. He had a plan, but he would need permission first and there was only one answer that would satisfy him.

The moment he was outside the Chief's office, he knocked twice before he pushed the door open. "I apologize for interrupting, Chief, but I must speak with you."

Behind her desk, Senju Tsunade looked up, her hazel eyes peering at him over the top of her glasses. She arched a single brow at him, the simple gesture displaying her authority more than any words possibly could. "Well by all means, come on in." He didn't miss the obvious tone of sarcasm in her voice. "This better be important, Uchiha."

"It is," he nodded.

"I guess we should finish our conversation later then."

Unaware there was another person in the room, Itachi glanced into the corner that had previously been out of his peripheral. To his surprise, he found none other than Sakura lounging almost casually on the small office couch. She wasn't glaring at him but he got the feeling she wanted nothing more than to tell him to get out of the damn room. However, she didn't voice her opinion as she slid her cool, emerald gaze off him and stood.

In a way, they had been at odds ever since his arrival in the hospital. She was highly intelligent and a noteworthy cardiac surgeon, and though she appeared to have many friends within the hospital, her attitude towards him had been coolly respectful - their conversations purely work-related and never longer than necessary. He had an inkling as to what had caused her dislike of him - it was common within his highly proud, highly prodigious family - but it surprised him she would take his warning so personally.

Her frosty attitude was shining now as she brushed out the wrinkles on her scrubs before she glanced at the Chief. "I'll come back later."

Tsunade nodded once before Sakura turned and headed towards the doorway. Itachi stepped aside to allow her room to leave and unsurprisingly she slipped past him without a glance, their arms nearly brushing in the small entryway. He caught a faint trace of her shampoo and laundry detergent, but it quickly faded and he watched her leave until she disappeared down the hall before he closed the door.

Returning his attention back to the Chief, he approached her desk until he was standing a respectful distance before the older, blonde woman. "I want to perform a Pro Bono valve replacement."

As he expected, she sat back in her chair, an incredulous expression on her face. "That is a very expensive surgery. Why the hell would I approve that?"

Taking a deep breath, Itachi answered.

xx

Sakura trailed her fingers lightly over the spines of the many books lining the bookshelf. She skimmed their titles quickly until she found the one she had been searching for and easily plucked the thick text from the shelf and flipped it open.

The research library was unsurprisingly empty given the time of night. Most interns and residents were too busy completing evening rounds to be in the room, leaving Sakura the freedom to read and the freedom to do so in peace. It was a form of relaxation for her – to be able to sit when she wasn't busy with patients or surgeries; a chance for her to unwind after a busy shift, even if Ino usually poked fun at her for being such a nerd. She didn't mind going out with her best friend to the bar after work – a lemon drop or three usually loosened her tired mind – but tonight, there had been an interesting case study plaguing her and she had been itching to know more.

For some time, she read in silence, but being an attending – and one with many friends within the hospital at that – she was hardly ever left alone for long. The newcomer was kind enough to let her finish reading her paragraph and once she reached the bottom, she looked up expectantly. Her brow arched at finding Itachi standing at the end of the bookshelf she was leaning against, a patient but cool expression on his face.

"Uchiha."

He nodded politely. "I wanted to apologize for interrupting your conversation with the Chief. I was unaware you were in the room."

"It's fine. It seemed like whatever you had to say was pretty important," she said stiffly. She closed her book slowly, her fingers marking her page. Then she fixed him with a stare. "But I know you didn't come here just to apologize, so what can I do for you?"

The corner of his mouth twitched before he pushed off the bookshelf and approached her until they could speak more privately. With his height, she was forced to crane her neck to meet his eyes. They were dark and intense, and she tried to ignore the way her skin warmed under his attention. He was an ass, but he was still a handsome ass.

"You are right. I have a favor to ask of you," he admitted. "I am performing a Pro Bono valve replacement on a five-year-old and I was hoping you could assist me."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. "Pro Bono on a valve replacement? And the Chief actually cleared it?"

Itachi nodded. "She did."

She huffed in quiet disbelief. "The Chief isn't really known for her generosity around here. You must have put up quite a fight to get her to say yes."

Surprisingly, Itachi just leaned back against the shelves, his arms crossed loosely and his expression vacant of the haughty look she had come to associate with him. "It is a case worth fighting for."

She resisted the urge to reply with a sarcastic comment and instead crossed her arms over her book as she cocked her brow at him. "Even still, a valve replacement is a four-hour surgery, even longer if there are complications. You want me to assist you free of charge?"

She could see she was testing his patience and secretly it gave her some pleasure, but he surprised her further by remaining courteous as he met her gaze evenly. "I know you do not care for me very much and I respect that you have remained professional about it, but this case is important and I would appreciate it if you did me this favor."

His honesty took her aback. She had been expecting him to pressure her or at the very least fix her with that simple but commanding look he had been walking around with for weeks now; but instead she found herself standing across from this very influential man, his presence unimposing and the usual arrogance he displayed absent. It made her wonder if this case was important _to him_.

"You're my boss," she said after a moment. "It's a requirement for me to remain professional."

His expression turned curious and he seemed to consider _something_ for a moment before he cocked his head. "Is your complaint with me because I threatened to bench you?"

His forwardness took her by surprise, but she shook her head nonetheless. "No. I stepped out of line and you warned me what would happen should I do so again. I have no right to hold that against you."

"Then what is it?" he asked not unkindly.

Sakura opened her mouth but the words never came as she began to wonder if perhaps Ino had been right. He did remind her of Gaara in some ways, but the fact he was currently being so open with her made her realized that perhaps she had formed her opinion of him too quickly; she had been critical of his every move ever since their first encounter. He was simply a new attending trying to learn the ins and outs of this new hospital and rather than assisting him, she had been purposely unhelpful ever since their first encounter.

"Shit," she murmured to herself. She was the one being the ass - not him.

Relaxing her stance, Sakura lowered her crossed arms to hold her book across her stomach as she pursed her lips, her obstinacy slowly dissolving. This time when she met his gaze, her hostility and sarcasm were gone. "I don't dislike you," she finally said. "I just haven't found a reason yet to like you. But this…this just might sway me. What time do you need me?"

Itachi blinked in surprise. "You will assist?"

She shrugged nonchalantly but there was a smile playing about her lips. "I was never going to say no. I have a thing for sick kids. Can't ever turn away."

He seemed almost flabbergasted at her answer, as though he hadn't expected her to openly admit to jerking him around for the hell of it, but then his expression softened as a quiet huff of amusement escaped him. "You are most unusual, Doctor Haruno," he murmured almost to himself. Then he straightened from the bookshelf. "I will schedule an OR then. Would ten fit into your schedule?"

"I'll be there."

He nodded and made to leave only to pause as he turned back to her, his expression open and full of gratitude. "Thank you, Haruno."

She couldn't bite back the small smile on her face. "You're welcome, Uchiha."

And like it had never disappeared, the confident tilt of his chin returned as he cocked a brow at her. "Actually, I prefer Sir Glares-alot, if you do not mind."

Sakura froze. Her eyes widened and she stared at him as she wondered how he had learned of the nickname she had given him only earlier that morning. He seemed to sense her question for he smirked. "You should know the nurses like to gossip," he explained.

Sakura opened her mouth to defend herself or at the very least apologize, but the words never came and Itachi used her silence to take his leave, his smirk still present. "I look forward to our surgery."

Then he disappeared around the bookshelf, leaving her to her scrabbling thoughts amongst the vast rows of medical books. Her heart was still hammering against her ribcage as she realized he had to have known she hadn't poked fun of him benevolently, but the fact that he hadn't immediately benched her did calm her some. However, it was that most peculiar look on his face that made her hesitate in returning to her book as she stared at where he had disappeared. A most confusing thought fell upon her. Had he just teased her?

A sense of humor didn't fit into the image she had painted of him, but it seemed she was learning all sorts of new things about her boss today, and with a low groan in the back of her throat, she realized it was likely she would learn more tonight. She was in for a very long surgery.

_**tbc...** _


	3. Chapter 3

**_Where it Happened  
part iii_ **

It was a quiet night. The ICU patients were resting peacefully, the OR rooms were empty and the residents covering the ER moved with purpose but not urgency. Everything was calm – far too calm for Itachi's liking. The lull in cases made him restless, knowing that the stillness was usually the calm before the storm, and the urge to sit and listen to the ambulance scanner in the ER tugged on him, but he curbed his desire by busying himself with checking in on his patients and updating their charts.

The hour wasn't too late and so he took his time as he moved room to room. He ordered the necessary medications for the patients in discomfort and made sure not to disturb those resting before he wandered into the attending breakroom for a quick refresher. The coffeepot was mostly empty and he dumped out the leftover from the afternoon rush before he replaced the grinds with fresh ones and set it to brew. As it was being made, he checked his phone only to sigh to himself as he noticed he had another missed call from his mother. He knew he should return it as it was her second one that day, but with the time difference he knew she would be in bed by now and he hated the feeling of relief that swept through him.

However, his guilt faded as he found several unanswered texts from his older cousin and longtime best friend. They were mostly light-hearted and teasing as Shisui complained once again about his absence. It wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation but Itachi played along knowing that he was most likely passing time as he sought out the prettiest girl at the bar or binge watched all the sports games he had missed while being stuck in surgery.

He couldn't recall how many nights Shisui had showed up at his condo, a six-pack in hand and a grin on his face as he asked to borrow his television so he could see if his favorite team had won. Itachi never understood why his cousin insisted on viewing them at his flat instead of his own but he never asked. They were as close as brothers and if Shisui wanted to spend his nights on his couch, he wouldn't deny him.

Thinking of his best friend put Itachi in a somber mood. He missed Shisui and even though it had only been a few months since he had last seen him, they had been some of the longest days of his life. He hadn't realized until he moved how accustom he'd become to waking up in the morning to find his cousin snoring on his couch. But he wasn't ready to pay a visit home yet. The events from a few months before were still too fresh.

After answering Shisui's texts, Itachi replaced his phone in his pocket and reached for the coffeepot just as his pager went off. Automatically he grabbed it and quickly read the short, emergency message before he replaced the coffeepot on the burner and ran out of the room, his mug left forgotten on the counter.

With quick steps, he raced through the hall and towards the elevator banks that would take him down to the Emergency Room. Just as he suspected, the night had no plans of sitting still, not that he had any complains. Surgery always made the nights on-call pass far quicker and the thought of being in the OR woke him up more than any amount of caffeine could.

The moment the doors opened, Itachi reached for one of the trauma gowns on the shelf near the elevator and pulled it on as he made his way towards the entrance doors. Kakashi was already outside upon his arrival, two residents beside him.

"What do we have?"

The older male glanced at him and nodded in greeting before his mismatched eyes returned down the drive the ambulance would be arriving from. "Car accident victim. Sounds like a massive chest injury. You might be in for a busy night."

Itachi hummed noncommittally as he finished pulling on his gloves. "How far out?"

"Should be here any second."

As if on cue, an ambulance suddenly turned up the drive, their lights and sirens on. They silenced them as they approached the entrance. The moment the vehicle was put into park, the doctors moved. A paramedic jumped out the driver side door to greet them. "Fifty-four-year-old female, t-boned by a drunk driver. She had low stats in the field, but the emergency thoracotomy has stabilized them for the most part-."

Both Kakashi and Itachi glanced at the paramedic sharply. "Thoracotomy?" Kakashi repeated.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Who gave you the authority to perform one?"

The emergency worker held up his hand defensively before he turned towards the back of the rig. "She insisted."

"She?"

Both men turned as he opened the back of the ambulance. Their eyes widened as the occupants to the rig were revealed. The first person that immediately caught Itachi's attention was Yamanaka Ino. She was sobbing hysterically. Her clothes were stained and ripped in places, but it appeared she wasn't critically injured as she was helped out of the back of the rig. The moment she was out of the way, Itachi understood what the paramedic had meant.

Haruno Sakura was sitting next to the stretcher. She was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a light jacket with her long, pastel pink hair down and falling around her in face and shoulders in soft waves. It was the first time he had seen her out of scrubs but that fact fell unnoticed as his gaze dropped to her hand. It was inside the woman's chest.

Kakashi turned to one of the residents. "Call down to the OR. Make sure they're ready for us."

The young woman hesitated, obviously not wanting to miss such an unusual surgery, but eventually she nodded. The moment she was gone, Kakashi returned his attention to Ino. "What happened?"

He grasped her arm but she shook her head, unable to explain through her tears.

"There was a car accident," Sakura said as she slowly stood, her attention focused on not letting her hand slip as they prepared to remove the gurney from the ambulance. "She has a tear in her right ventricle wall. I've plugged the hole for now, but my hand has been in here for twenty minutes and I can feel it widening. There's something sharp in here. I'm not sure if it's glass or bone."

"All right," Kakashi said. He reached out to Sakura as they prepared to move her and their patient out of the ambulance. "On my count. One, two, three."

With careful movements, the doctors and paramedics helped the pair out as they made sure Sakura's hand didn't move an inch. The moment they were settled on the ground, Kakashi placed his hand to her lower back. "Jump on. We need to get to surgery."

Immediately Ino pushed forward, her blue eyes full of tears and her expression displaying her fear. "I-I can't…I don't-."

Sakura glanced up at her best friend. "Ino, we've got her," she said, her voice assuring but firm. She then turned to the remaining resident. "Stay with her. You do not let her out of your sights." Only once she received an acknowledgement did she redirect her attention back to the crying woman. "Go wait for me. I'll find you."

"But-."

"Ino!"

She broke down into fresh tears but stepped back and allowed them to pass. Without further delay, they rushed inside the hospital with Sakura standing on the side of the stretcher and Kakashi beside her with a supportive hand to her back. Only once they were in the elevator did the older male glance up at her. "You going to tell me what the hell that was about?"

It was a moment before she answered, "Our patient is Ino's mother."

Itachi looked up at her as the weight of their responsibility suddenly pressed heavily on his shoulders. It was always there whenever he entered surgery, but the fact that this patient had personal ties to a doctor within the hospital only made it all the more clear.

Itachi briefly met Sakura's eyes over the injured woman before the sound of the elevator drew her gaze upwards to the row of numbers above the door. He continued to watch her. She looked equal parts stunning and fierce in her fitted jeans and simple but classy blazer, and he would have thought her style to be flawless – if not for the fact she was covered in blood. Her arm up to her elbow was speckled red while her jacket was moderately stained. There was a bloody smear near her collarbone, but his attention too turned to the floor numbers as they neared the OR.

"Haruno, you are not going to be able to scrub for obvious reasons," he said, his gaze falling back to her. "Hatake and I still need to. The surgical staff will gown you and we will meet you in there. Do not remove your hand under any circumstances until I tell you to."

Even given their current situation, Sakura still managed to a weak smirk. "What do you think I am? A first-year?"

Itachi shot her a look but said nothing – nor did anyone else. The moment the doors opened, they pushed the stretcher out of the elevator. A team met them, and both Itachi and Kakashi turned away as the other members of the OR began prepping both Sakura and their patient.

The men scrubbed thoroughly, ensuring they didn't rush even as the desire to hurry and get into the room tugged on them. Kakashi was the first to speak. "How do you want to do this?" he asked as he glanced at Itachi out of the corner of his eyes.

"One step at a time."

His mind was already running through the outcomes of what could happen next. He mentally checked what would need to be done with each scenario, but the possibilities were endless. He wouldn't know exactly what they were dealing with until they got in there.

Washing the suds from his arms and hands, Itachi walked into the OR with Kakashi on his heels. He accepted the sterile towel from one of the nurses and dried his hands before he slipped into the gown and gloves. Sakura was looking far more familiar in her own surgical attire. One of the nurses had pulled her hair away from her shoulders and tied a mask over her mouth and nose, leaving only her eyes exposed. They were fixated on the patient's side.

"Shall we get started then?" Kakashi said pleasantly. His easy tone cut through the tension of the room.

Kakashi stepped up next to Sakura as Itachi automatically slipped into the primary surgeon's position across from her. He held out his hand. "Ten blade."

Together, he and Kakashi worked quickly but carefully as they widened the woman's chest around Sakura's wrist and revealed the damage they were dealing with. It appeared a rib fracture had caused the tear in the woman's ventricle wall and was threatening to do further damage with every beat of her heart. The only thing currently preventing her from bleeding out was Sakura's finger as she plugged the hole. He would need to repair the break before he could remove her hand. It wouldn't take long, but it was the damage to the patient's heart that was of far more concern. There was more blood than there should be.

With a practiced hand, Itachi repaired the break until it was no longer in danger of causing further damage and finally turned to her. "All right, Haruno, when I give you my word, I want you to take your hand out slowly and carefully."

He glanced up to see her nod, her eyes focused solely on her hand. His gaze flickered to Kakashi to get his confirmation as well before he returned his attention to the patient under his knife. Holding his hand out to his scrub nurse, he requested the necessary tools and exhaled slowly.

"Okay, now."

Gently Sakura removed her hand, paying special attention not to further widen the tear or cause any other damage as she slipped her hand out. The moment she was free, Itachi began working as Kakashi suctioned the blood out of his way. They moved quickly and efficiently as Sakura stepped away and allowed them room.

"All right, let me get scrubbed and I'll assist," she said.

Immediately Itachi glanced up at her before his gaze turned to Kakashi as he addressed her. "Sakura, we've got this. You should go find Yamanaka and update her."

Behind her mask, her eyes widened in surprise. "What? No, I want to help."

"I know, but right now she needs you more than we do," Kakashi explained patiently. "Besides, didn't you say you were in a car accident? You should get yourself checked out."

"I'm fine," she stressed.

Kakashi fixed her with a stare. "Sakura. Go."

She hesitated but after a tense minute, her shoulders slouched in acceptance. "Fine. But you'll page me the moment you're done?"

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything else," he smiled.

With his promise, she finally turned and exited the room.

The moment she was gone, Kakashi briefly flickered his gaze to Itachi. "You better be able to fix this, otherwise she will never speak to either of us again."

Itachi peered up at him, his lips pursed behind his mask. "This is a very difficult injury. It will be a long one."

He could feel Kakashi's hidden frown, but neither male said anything further as they turned their attention to their work.

xx

It was late – or was it early? Sakura didn't know. She had been up so long she no longer knew what time it was but nor did she particularly care to know as she continued to sit in the Attendings' Lounge and half-watch whatever cooking show was on television. Nara Shikamaru, one of the hospital's best Radiologists, had taken Ino some time ago to get her cleaned up and the small gash on her head checked out. Naruto had sat with her for a little while after they had left, but he had been pulled into an emergent surgery himself not long after, leaving her to herself.

Sakura had taken the lull in activity to shower and change into a pair of scrubs – both to wash the blood off herself and to pass the time – but it hadn't taken very long and she found herself growing restless the longer Kakashi and Itachi were in surgery. She knew the extent of Ino's mother's injuries and was aware that it would be a lengthy surgery but the longer she sat, the more worried she became. She had told countless family members in the past that their loved ones had died in surgery, but she didn't know how to tell her best friend that her mother hadn't survived. She wanted to be in there, wanted to know exactly what was going on, but she knew Kakashi was right for kicking her out; there was no place for emotions in the OR.

Staring blankly at the television screen, Sakura watched absentmindedly as the chefs prepared an intricate meal. The food looked delicious and at any other given point in time, it would have made her mouth water but at that moment, the only thing on her mind was the heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach and how she wished someone would bring her an update.

It was nearly an entire episode later when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Sakura turned her head slowly only for her exhaustion to vanish as she recognized Kakashi. He stopped at the end of the couch and quickly she stood to face him. It was then she realized he was not alone as Itachi leaned against the door frame, his expression tired but otherwise unreadable. The fact that they were both there made the lump in her stomach grow heavier.

"Please tell me I don't have to tell my best friend her mother is dead."

It was then that she realized there was a small smile on Kakashi's face. "You don't have to tell your best friend her mother is dead."

Relief swept through her so abruptly she thought her knees might give out on her for a moment and she dragged a tired hand down her face. "Oh gods…" she breathed. The stress she had been harboring all night vanished in that single exhale.

"There were some complications during the surgery," Kakashi continued slowly, "but we do expect her to make a full albeit long recovery."

"As long as she's stable."

"She is," Itachi confirmed.

Sakura glanced at him and breathed another sigh of relief before she swiped the remote off the couch and clicked the television off. "I should go tell Ino. Shikamaru took her up to MRI."

Kakashi stopped her with a hand to her shoulder before she could walk around him. "I think Uchiha can inform Yamanaka. Did you ever get yourself checked out?"

"'Kashi, I'm fine. It wasn't my side that was hit."

He gave her a stern look. "Sakura."

There was an undertone of warning in his voice that she had come to recognize while she had been an intern all those years ago. She knew she currently had two options: either she went to CT willingly or he would drag here there himself. Eventually she sighed. "All right, fine," she agreed reluctantly. "But it better be fast. My shift starts in an hour."

"I will cover for you," Itachi interjected. "Go get yourself looked at, Haruno."

Sakura glanced at him in surprise. "Oh. Okay."

Itachi merely nodded at the pair before he excused himself. She watched him take his leave before she followed him out of the room and turned the opposite way down the hall, intent on getting cleared as quickly as possible. She knew Itachi had been on-call all night.

However, it wasn't long before she realized she had a shadow. "Where are you going?" she asked Kakashi.

"I am making sure you don't get distracted on your way to CT."

She gave him a flat look. "Okay, dad."

"I love it when you talk dirty."

With a laugh, Sakura shoved him with her shoulder as they ventured further into the hospital. She would never admit it – though she was certain he already knew – that she was grateful for the company. It had been a long night by herself.

xx

It was just past sunrise when Sakura wondered into the Attending's Changing Room. Her shift was supposed to have started a few hours ago but with her recent accident, she had been forced to wait for the necessary departments to clear her before she could resume her work. A yawn forced itself out of her mouth as she passed another attending and she nodded at them politely before she continued towards her cubby.

She spotted Tenten a few benches down but the older woman was busy talking to Hyuuga Neji, their Neurology Department Head, to notice her and she bit back her smile and averted her gaze as she watched them flirt awkwardly. It was then that she realized Itachi was sitting on another bench a few lockers down from hers as he stared down at his phone. Her sudden amusement vanished as a sense of guilt came over her. She had been too exhausted to remember to thank him for his work in the surgery _and_ for covering her shift, and her lack of manners made discomfort fill her as she slowly approached her cubby.

Sakura glanced in his direction, but he didn't look up at her as he continued to stare down at his screen. She hesitated a moment before she eventually forced herself to speak. "Hey."

Itachi looked up at her slowly. "Hey," he echoed monotonously.

"I wanted to say thanks for tonight."

His expression didn't change. "I was doing my job."

"I know," Sakura nodded. She shifted to lean against her locker as she better faced him. "But thanks anyway. I couldn't have asked for better hands in there."

"You are welcome," he said.

A small smile crossed his face, softening his handsome features. It made an unusual feeling bubble in her stomach, but the look was gone as quickly as it had come before he returned his gaze down to his phone. It was then that she realized there was a slouch to his shoulders she hadn't seen before that was accompanied by a barely noticeable but tight expression on his face. He almost appeared sad.

"Are you all right?" she asked before she could stop herself. "You seem…" she trailed off, unsure how to word her next statement.

Itachi merely shut off his phone and pocketed the device before he glanced up at her again as he stood. The look was gone. "I am fine. You, on the other hand, should get some rest. You have been up all night."

The abrupt change in subject was not lost on her, but she didn't press. His business was his own. Instead she merely cocked her brow at him. "You've been up all night too."

"Yes, but I was on-call. And you were in a car accident."

"I was cleared."

"But you're exhausted."

As if to prove his point, she yawned. Quickly Sakura held up a hand to cover it, but Itachi merely stared at her, a smirk playing in the corner of his mouth. "Go get some rest. Page me when you are awake."

A frown marred her features but after a moment, she relented. "Fine. Thanks," she said, her mouth curving into a smile.

She turned away from him to retrieve her pager from her locker, but before she left to find herself the nearest on-call room, she chanced a glance back at the older male. He was riffling through his own locker. His expression was calm, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was bothering him, something was weighing on him.

But she knew it wasn't her place to ask and so she merely wished him a good night before she retreated from the room. Her only thought was on finding the closest on-call room.

**_tbc…_ **


	4. Chapter 4

**_Where it Happened  
part iv_ **

The gallery was silent with the exception of the soft whispers of residents and the scratch of Itachi's pen. Periodically he would flicker his dark gaze up from his chart to peer into the operating room below as Haruno Sakura performed her scheduled mitral valve repair. She worked swiftly but precisely as she both operated and taught their new, transfer resident. Itachi believed her name was Hyuuga Hanabi. She was the younger cousin to Hyuuga Neji, the hospital's Head of Neurology, but he hadn't interacted with the young women and didn't know any more about her than the rumors that were circulating.

Besides it was the attending not the resident that had drawn him to the gallery.

"Dammit."

The sudden curse in the OR below drew Itachi's gaze again. Sakura was staring at the open heart below her with a frustrated pinch to her brows. Her hands worked purposefully as she withdrew her stitches and maneuvered the surgical tools to give herself a better view of the valve.

She shook her head and cursed softly again. "The cords are more damaged than the scans showed."

"There's no sign of heart disease in her file. What could cause this much damage?" Hanabi asked.

"Given the patient's age and medical history, she probably had some type of trauma in the past," Sakura explained as she continued to work.

"Then why wasn't this caught before?"

Sakura briefly glance up at her. "Probably because either she didn't get herself checked out or her previous doctors didn't think to look for it."

Itachi closed his chart as he watched their exchange silently. Sakura continued to try for a few more minutes until she eventually gave up and withdrew her medical tools. "This repair isn't going to work. We're going to have to do a complete replacement."

"I'll prep for a mechanical valve," Hanabi said obediently.

"No," Sakura stopped her. Even from the gallery, Itachi could see her thoughts turning over in her head and after a moment's pause, she gave her orders. "Prep for a porcine valve."

The confusion in Hanabi's gaze reflected his own but Itachi merely sat quietly and continued to monitor her surgery as the observing residents a few seats down from him whispered their own questions about her decision. It was a curious choice – one he didn't think he would make personally – but his attention turned away from the operation as his pager sounded. He was needed in the ER for a consult.

Pushing himself to his feet, Itachi gazed down at the surgery for a moment longer before he turned away and headed out.

xx

It was nearly three hours later when he ran into Sakura again. Itachi was half-paying attention to those around him as he texted Shisui before his best friend began a nine-hour facial reconstruction surgery. He was just slipping his phone into his pocket when he heard her voice from inside an ICU room: "I want you to monitor her for the next twenty-four hours. Keep an eye on her BP and make sure to run Coags every few hours to ensure we don't have any blood clots."

Itachi vaguely heard Hanabi's acceptance before Sakura exited the room and made her way towards the nurses' station where he was standing. She tossed him a quick smile before she flipped open her chart and began updating the file. Her surgical cap was still pulled over her pale pink locks and unconsciously Itachi found himself studying her as he recalled her decision during her surgery. It had all but escaped him in the rush of the ER, but seeing her now freshly scrubbed reminded him of what he had witnesses earlier that morning.

"Why did you decide to use a porcine valve?"

Sakura looked up from her chart, her brow arched in surprise at his line of questioning. "Because she's a thirty-two-year-old woman."

"Exactly," Itachi nodded. "Would her age not make her more suitable for a mechanical valve?"

A strange expression crossed her face, one he didn't recognize, and after a moment's hesitation, she turned to face him fully. " _Woman_ was actually the part I was trying to emphasize. Had I used a mechanical valve, she would have been forced to use blood-thinners the rest of her life; which means if she chooses to become pregnant not only will it potentially cause problems for the baby, but it can endanger her life during childbirth," she explained. "So I chose a pig valve to decrease those risks."

"Porcine valves are known to deteriorate."

"And if it does, then she came come back and we can reassess whether to do another porcine or a mechanical valve."

He didn't miss the defensive tone in her voice, but it was her reasoning that he found far more interesting. He hadn't considered the possibility of the patient's desire to engage in parenthood but the fact Sakura had considered it and weighed the decision while in the middle of surgery left him impressed. He was both unable and unwilling to further engage in a professional debate with her.

"Okay then," he nodded.

The same look crowded her expression but she said nothing as she turned away and continued writing within her chart. He got the vague impression he had offended her, but his line of questioning hadn't been without justification. Sakura was an incredibly smart surgeon and obviously conscious of her patient's desires given her decision within her surgery; however, the fact still remained that the operation today would still cause later complications for the young woman later in life. He just wanted to understand her reasoning for performing what some may consider a questionable call. He trusted Sakura's judgement. But it was still his department.

"I have a trauma coming up from the ER," Itachi said, breaking their tension. "I am aware you just finish surgery, but would you care to join me?"

Sakura glanced at him again and pursed her lips as she considered his offer, but just like every surgeon, it was hard to stay out of the OR and eventually she relented. "Fine. What room?"

Itachi bit back his smirk. "OR 3."

"I'll see you there."

It seemed there was one way to stay on her good side.

xx

Sakura's less than pleasant mood showed as she speared one of the many carrots in her salad with more force than necessary. Across the cafeteria table, Ino and Tenten eyed her as she shoved the vegetable in her mouth before she repeated the motion.

"What's your problem?" Ino asked.

Sakura sighed heavily as she sat back in her chair. "Hades is back on his throne."

"Who is Hades?"

Tenten's brow furrowed in confusion. "Like the God of the Underworld, Hades?"

Sakura nodded before she stabbed another vegetable. "Lord and Ruler of the damned and tortured souls."

"Oh, I see," Ino murmured. There was an amused look on her gorgeous face. "We're talking about Uchiha, aren't we? What happened to Sir-Glaresalot?"

"He overheard that one from a nurse," the Cardiac Surgeon explained. She set her fork down, knowing she was too riled up to not keep prodding her food out of frustration. "And this one's more fitting, but that's not the point. My point is he's been standing over my shoulder at every single one of my surgeries this week. I feel like I have a babysitter in the OR with me."

"Hence the tortured soul," Tenten muttered.

Sakura shot her a look while Ino bit back her laugh. "All I know is if I have to spend another five hours in a surgery with him, I'm going to explode."

Across from her, Ino smirked. "At least you get to stare at that face for five hours."

"Not really. It's hidden behind a mask. And besides, are his looks all you see?"

The blonde merely shrugged. "Well you still get to look at those stunning eyes. And that's all I _have_ to see. It's not like he's my boss."

"Feel free to trade me," Sakura countered.

Ino slapped her hand on the table. "Done."

Sakura snorted as Tenten laughed behind her burger. The brunette made a sarcastic remark but it fell on deaf ears as Sakura's pager sounded. She was needed in the Emergency Room immediately.

"Gotta go."

Pushing back from the table, Sakura stood and shoved one last mouthful of salad into her mouth before she ran through the hospital and towards the ER. Upon her arrival, a nurse directed her into a trauma room. Inside, Kakashi and Hanabi were already fast at work as the patient between them coughed up another mouthful of blood and spat it into a hospital bin.

"Where the hell is Cardio?"

"Right here," Sakura answered as she pulled on gloves. "What do we have?"

Kakashi didn't even pass her a glance. "Fifty-year-old female with chest pain. It started about forty minutes ago. She started coughing up blood about thirty."

Immediately Sakura reached for her stethoscope as she stepped up to their patient. "How much blood has she lost?"

"About a liter," Hanabi answered.

She pressed the metal disk to the patient's chest, but before she could listen, an awful sound rose from the woman's throat as she once again let out a wet, painful cough. Quickly Sakura released her equipment as she moved to help support her. "Do we have a portable ultrasound down here?"

"I have it here," Hanabi informed her.

Kakashi readily took Sakura's place in assisting the woman before she accepted the device from her resident. As soon as their patient was relaxed back against the bed again, Hanabi applied gel to the woman's chest before Sakura began her scan. She vaguely listened to Kakashi as he began asking for more details about her current condition, but her attention quickly zoned in on the ultrasound as she began to get an idea of exactly what they were dealing with.

"We need to get to an OR," Sakura ordered abruptly.

She withdrew the ultrasound and set it on a tray before she began prepping the patient to move. Kakashi glanced up at her. "What are we dealing with?"

"It's a ruptured aortic aneurysm."

Hanabi's eyes widened. "Can I scrub in?"

"It's all hands on deck. Call down to the OR and make sure they're ready for us," Sakura said as she continued to set up for transport. She chewed the inside of her lip before adding, "And page Dr. Uchiha."

"Yes, Dr. Haruno."

Hanabi raced out of the room in her excitement, missing the look Kakashi sent Sakura's way. She ignored him, not entirely sure how he always seemed to know everything, before they finally left the trauma room.

It was a rush down to the OR. As quickly and clearly as possible, Sakura explained to their patient what was happening, but the woman was barely alert and responsive, and by the time they arrive she was nearly unconscious. Sakura gave her orders to the surgical nurses waiting for them in the hallway and obediently they took her into the room to prep. With a wish of good luck, Kakashi returned to the ER before Sakura headed into the scrub room. Hanabi was already there and together they tied their masks into place and scrubbed before they entered the operating room.

A nurse greeted Sakura with a gown and she quickly stepped into it before they tied it into place for her. As soon as she was situated, she stepped up to the patient just as the door slid open again. "Someone paged me."

She glanced up at Itachi. He was staring at her expectantly from behind his mask as he dried his hands with a sterile towel. "I did," she said. "A ruptured aortic aneurysm came into the ER."

His brow arched curiously. "You're certain?"

A sudden burn of annoyance rippled through her but she fought to ignore it as he turned away to accept the surgical gown from one of the nurses. "Yes, I'm certain. That's why you're here."

"Okay then. Go ahead and start. I will catch up."

For the umpteenth time that week, Sakura bit her tongue to keep her thoughts behind her teeth. Instead she held her hand out to the scrub nurse as she forced herself to focus on the task at hand. "Ten blade."

It was going to be another one of _those_ surgeries.

xx

For hours they worked. Itachi and Hanabi helped clamp the artery and suction blood out of the way as she did her best to sew the graft into place. After her third failed attempt, she sighed heavily out her nose and cursed softly. "Dammit. This isn't holding. We're going to have to do something else."

"Perhaps-?"

"It's not holding," Sakura repeated sharply before he could offer his help.

She met Itachi's gaze over the table and immediately regretted the words. Behind his mask, she was unable to read his expression and she inwardly chastised herself for allowing her frustrations to get the better of her, but she withheld her apology. Their patient was still in danger and they were running out of options.

"Can we try clamping higher?" Hanabi suggested.

Next to her, Itachi shook his head. "We are already at the superior mesenteric artery."

"Her aorta keeps tearing. There's no place left to even sew the graft on to," Sakura said as she pulled the equipment out and handed it back to the nurse.

Hanabi looked between the two surgeons. "So what do we do?"

Neither of them answered as Sakura stared down at the open chest cavity. Their patient was still losing blood and they were nowhere closer to finding an answer than when they first opened her. For the first time in a long time, Sakura was stuck. It left a hard lump in the bottom of her stomach but she refused to give up as she quickly searched through her memory for anything – any case or study or _something_ – that could help them.

Adrenaline flooded her system as an article she had read her first year as a resident suddenly came to mind. "What if we divide the renal vein?"

Even with his mask, she could see Itachi's doubt. "She has already lost a lot of blood."

"If we continue to do nothing, she'll just lose more."

He didn't immediately answer as he considered his decision. It weighed on the room and pressed down onto her, almost suffocating in its intensity, as he met her gaze evenly - until Itachi finally nodded and turned to the scrub nurse. "Scalpel."

With his better positioning, Sakura didn't argue as she held out her own hand. "Clamp."

And together, they fought like hell.

By the time Sakura stepped out of surgery, over five hours had passed since their patient originally arrived in the ER. She was tired and her back ached between her shoulder blades from hunching over, but there was a smile on her face as she watched an ICU nurse double check the woman's IV's and fluids. Next to her, Hanabi held a hand to her face as she smothered her yawn.

"I want her monitored for the next twenty-four hours," Sakura ordered her. "Check her Coags every hour as well as her Swan-Ganz catheter. If anything is even a little abnormal, I want to hear about it."

The young resident accepted her orders before she wondered into the patient's room. Sakura watched her go before she headed towards the nurses' station. Itachi was already there updating the patient's chart but he glanced up at her in greeting before he continued writing. "I must say that was quite a surgery. It has been a long time since I divided a renal vein. Even longer in an emergent surgery."

"You think I was being risky?" Sakura asked. She couldn't keep her defensiveness from her tone.

Itachi stopped writing to look at her. "I think that in another situation it would have been. But this one, it was necessary."

As if that explanation was enough, he returned to the chart. Silently Sakura eyed him, her lips pursed together in annoyance, as he finished the chart and handed it off to a nurse before he turned and made his way out of the ICU. For a moment, she simply watched him leave but her impulse got the better of her and hurriedly she dashed after him.

The moment she caught up to him, she hooked her hand inside his elbow and spun him into the nearest conference room. His expression reflected his bewilderment, but she didn't give him the chance to speak as she crossed her arms. "Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on? You have been critical and judgmental of my decisions ever since my valve replacement earlier this week. Do you think I'm a danger to my patients or something? Do you think I'm incompetent?"

Silence met her angry words. Itachi stared at her, his surprise gone and replaced by something she couldn't quite name. Immediately she recognized how gravely she had overstepped, and almost as quickly as it had come, her anger cooled. She swallowed hard as the room suddenly felt small with their close proximity and her heart pounded in her chest as she steeled herself for the consequences of her compulsion.

But then he did the last thing she had expected. He _snorted._

Stunned, Sakura opened her mouth but it took her a moment to find her voice. "And what the hell is so funny?"

Itachi didn't immediately answer her as he appeared to compose himself. There was a smirk tugging on the corner of his mouth that only furthered her confusion but he suppressed it as he finally answered. "I apologize. I did not mean to appear critical of your abilities," he said, his voice light with humor. His expression then turned more serious as he regarded her. "I have been watching you since our first surgery together as it became apparent that you are an incredibly gifted and innovative surgeon. This week I had a small lag in cases and decided to tag along on your surgeries. It was never my intention to question your abilities, but rather to better understand your judgement and expertise within the OR."

Her face openly displayed her confusion. "Why?"

Itachi's expression turned thoughtful. "As you may know, my mother is the founder of the Uchiha Foundation. Every year, we receive a handful of nominees of some of the best and brightest surgeons in the country and award one of them a grant for their dedication and continued research," he explained.

Her brows furrowed further but she nodded, already aware of his prestigious family name.

The corner of Itachi's mouth twitched again as if the fact she didn't understand where their conversation was going amused him. "I am telling you this because it is becoming more apparent to me that one day when you have time to sit down and begin your own research, I may see your name up for nomination." His half-smile, half-smirk returned. "And it is always more meaningful when I am already acquainted with the winner."

His sincere statement left her speechless and she stared at him in open bafflement as she fought to process their conversation. This entire time she had presumed he had been following her to make sure she didn't screw up when in fact he had been observing her out of appreciation. He seemed to truly believe that she would one day make a name for herself and the fact he said it so confidently left her feeling a little dazed.

She scrambled for something to say but her thoughts were in disarray and before she could formulate a reply, Itachi's pager went off. He pulled it from his hip and read the quick message. "I am needed downstairs for a consult," he said. Then he met her gaze again as a smile softened his handsome face. "But expect to see me in your OR again soon."

Then he was gone, leaving her in the conference room alone.

She still felt stunned. Her emotions were a jumbled mess behind her breastbone and her mind was full of half-thoughts as she mentally repeated their conversation. But then a soft laugh escaped her and she couldn't bite back the grin that stretched across her face. She hadn't ever expected such high praise from a surgeon who already had such a successful career himself and his warm compliment filled her until she thought she might burst.

Even after all these weeks, it seemed she still didn't know Uchiha Itachi very well at all, and perhaps it was time she changed that – which meant she was going to have to find another nickname for him. Again.

_**tbc...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't noticed already, this story's plot is mostly focused around the relationships, rather than relationships plus another main-story plot. And it's pretty much going to stay that way. This is kinda my stress-release story so if it some times seems disconnected, it's because this is the one story I plan to just write without worrying about the plot.
> 
> That being said, thanks for reading. To my reviewers who are in Med School - good luck!


	5. Chapter 5

**_Where it Happened  
part v_ **

A frown pulled at the corners of Itachi's mouth. He sat back in the chair he had been preoccupying for near that of an hour as he stared unseeingly at the rows of scans lining the wall. They were the latest of many for his patient, but he needn't look at them any longer to know there was no positive change to their health. The tumor had continued to grow. It had been an outcome they had been anticipating for some time now, but it still didn't make the fact any easier.

Releasing a soft sigh, Itachi couldn't yet find it within himself to move. He knew he needed to update his patient but he was in no hurry to finish this case. He knew what came next, but after treating the young woman for so long, the concept of giving up and letting her go left an uncomfortable lump in the bottom of his stomach.

Silently he rested his chin on his fist as he mentally prepared himself for the rest of his day. There was still so much to be done, but it wasn't until the door opened again that he finally picked his head up. He swiveled his chair slightly to find Kakashi standing in the doorway with his mismatched eyes focused on a file. Given the slight purse of his lips, he was displeased with what the document held, and he raked a hand through his silver locks before he finally looked up.

"Oh sorry, Uchiha," Kakashi said, his expression displaying his surprise at his presence. "I was looking for Hyuuga. We were supposed to meet here ten minutes ago to discuss a patient."

"Hyuuga had a complication with his patient this morning," Itachi informed him. "He is likely still in surgery."

"Damn," he cursed softly as he closed his file again. "Alright. Guess I'll go see how much longer he'll be. Thanks."

Itachi made a noncommittal noise in his throat before he returned his gaze to the scans on the wall again. However, he glanced back at Kakashi before the older male could back out of the room. "Hatake, have you seen Haruno?"

He hadn't seen the young surgeon in his department all day and could only assume the older male knew where to find her. Itachi was quickly learning that the pair was surprisingly close – at least close enough to keep tabs on one another.

It seemed his observation held true as Kakashi frowned thoughtfully. "She helped cover the ER last night. My guess is she's asleep somewhere. Try the third floor on-call room. She usually gravitates towards that one."

"Thanks."

Kakashi merely nodded before he exited, leaving Itachi alone once more. He continued to eye the scans a moment longer, but he knew he could stay hidden away all day and with a deep sigh, Itachi eventually pushed himself to his feet and gathered his things before he headed down to the third floor.

He found the on-call room easily, having mastered the complicated layout of the hospital after several weeks of walking the halls. Without knocking, he soundlessly pushed the door open and stepped inside. The room was dark and quiet, but he could just make out a silhouette in the bed against the far wall. "Haruno," he called softly.

Almost immediately, he heard her deep breath before the figure in the bed shifted and stretched. "Uchiha?" she murmured sleepily in the darkness. "What time is it?"

He held his watch up to the hallway light shining into the room. "Quarter past noon. I apologize for waking you but I need a second opinion."

"'course. Can you hit the light?" she said with a soft yawn.

Closing the door, Itachi flipped the switch before he faced her again. Unconsciously he stilled.

Her shoes were kicked carelessly to the floor at the foot of the bed while her scrub top lay bundled near her feet, leaving her in her scrub bottoms and a form-fitting tank top. Her shirt had ridden up slightly in her sleep and automatically his gaze drew down to the exposed smooth skin of her stomach. It was only a flash, barely a peek at what was hidden underneath, but he was a man and warmth stirred in his lower stomach.

Realizing his gaze had turned inappropriate, Itachi ignored the feeling as he forced his attention upward. Fortunately, Sakura seemed unaware of his wondering gaze as she sat up. She adjusted her clothing and pushed her wavy, pink hair over her shoulder before she swung a leg over the side of the bed. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she held her hand out. "What do you have?"

Itachi swallowed before answering. "Twenty-eight-year-old female with a cardiac tumor."

He stepped forward and handed her the patient information before he moved back once more to avoid hovering. Sakura accepted the file soundlessly, still attempting to wake herself up, before she pulled out the scan and held it up to the overhead light. The room was silent as she studied the picture. Itachi merely waited patiently, his gaze fixated solely upon her face.

It wasn't long before her eyes widened. "Not to sound crass, but this woman is still alive?"

Her gaze flickered to him and he nodded. "She is. For now."

Sakura shook her head as she returned her attention to the scan. "This tumor has entirely eroded through the ventricle wall. This thing is completely inoperable."

Even from across the room, he could see the astonishment etched into her expression. From the way she chewed her bottom lip, he knew her mind was still spinning through scenarios and possibilities, but the longer she examined the image, the graver her expression turned.

Eventually she lowered the scan. "I'm not sure what we could even do. In all honesty, it's amazing this woman has lasted this long at all." She glanced at him with a deep frown on her face, but it quickly faded to be replaced by a curious expression as if something had suddenly occurred to her. "But you already knew that, so why are you bringing it to me?"

It was a moment before Itachi answered. "My patient has requested Physician-Assisted Suicide."

Understanding dawned on her. Her emerald eyes widened as she processed what he said before she breathed out a heavy sigh. "Which requires two signatures. That's why you came to me."

He nodded. "She has already waited the required time period and passed her psych evaluations. All that is left is for you to sign off and to inform the Chief, and then I can…" He paused before continuing, "Then I can follow through with her request."

Sakura said nothing as she glanced down at the chart again. Itachi understood her hesitation. As doctors, they were trained to save lives. They spent countless hours gaining knowledge and honing their skills to help patients, and to fight even when it seemed there was nothing left to fight for. It was never an easy decision when it came to helping a patient end their care.

A heavy silence pressed down upon them as Sakura continued to look at the information before her. Itachi merely watched her quietly. There was a discontent pinch between her brows and an aura about her that he couldn't help but feel guilty about. He knew this was the worst way to be woken up, but in their line of work it couldn't always be helped. And so, he waited.

Eventually Sakura glanced up at him again. "Do you mind if I look this over a little longer?"

Immediately Itachi shook his head. "Page me when you have your answer."

"I'll find you before the end of the day."

Her attention returned to the charts, but he didn't immediately step out of the room. He observed her a moment longer as she set the scan down and flipped open the patient file. Her hair was still slightly disheveled and there was the slight smudge of mascara under her eyes but it was the intensity behind her emerald irises that gave him pause. Warmth curled within him again.

The moment broke as Sakura glanced up again. "Was there something else?"

"No," he murmured. "Excuse me."

Without pause, Itachi backed out of the room as silently as he had come. He closed the door behind him and took a moment to let out a deep breath. The heat in his lower stomach was fading, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of attraction that welled within him.

It was a strange, almost amusing emotion. He had been working with Sakura since the week he had arrived and though her bold, green eyes and pastel, pink hair turned most heads, it had been her sharp tongue and even sharper intellect that had captured his professional attention. Her confidence in her abilities was what strengthened his trust in her. It was the very reason he had sought her out for this case rather than an older, more experienced surgeon. She had quite the backbone to her – and short temper – which, in combination, was a great source of amusement whenever he chose to push her. It wasn't entirely shocking that he found his body reacting to her.

However, Itachi knew such impulses could never to be acted upon and he pushed his line of thinking from his mind before he stepped away from the door. He still had plenty of work to do while Sakura reached her decision.

xx

Closing her eyes, Sakura leaned her head back against the bookshelf with a soft sigh. Her eyes ached from reading and researching for so long and though she had gained some new medical knowledge in her quest for information, it hadn't been what she was looking for. The lack of guidance left her feeling hollow and helpless.

"Rough day?"

Turning her head towards the voice, Sakura smiled softly as she watched Naruto approach from the far end of the bookshelf. Her blond friend was out of his scrubs and donning a pair of jeans and his favorite, obnoxiously orange hoodie. Normally she would tease him about how he should just trade in his stethoscope for a hardhat and power tools, but she left the joke unsaid as he lowered himself to the floor next to her.

"Yeah," she said eventually. She turned her gaze back to the patient chart in her lap with pursed lips. "Uchiha has a patient that requested Physician-Assisted Suicide. All day, I've been going through case studies and articles trying to see if there's anything we can do, but the only thing that can help her at this point is a transplant and because she's had tumors removed from her liver and kidneys, UNSO says she's an unsuitable candidate."

Naruto frowned. "So you're going to sign off?"

She frowned. "I hate to, but yes. There's nothing that can be done, and who am I to tell a patient they have to suffer the rest of their life?" she said helplessly. "It's a horrible decision, but it's either this or she dies in a very painful way in a week or two weeks or a month from now."

He said nothing but he leaned his shoulder against hers, offering his silent support. They sat quietly for some moments before Naruto glanced at her. "Wanna get a drink?"

The thought was tempting but Sakura shook her head. "No. I think I'm going to stay here tonight and help out."

"Alright. You'll call me if you need anything?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Naruto."

She was grateful he didn't mention anything about her staying the previous night, and she accepted his brief but warm hug before he pushed himself to his feet and disappeared back out of the library. Sakura watched him go before she returned her attention to the mess of paperwork spread around her. Quietly she collected the patient information before she replaced the books and files she had removed from the shelves and stood to leave.

With the evening rounds completed, the hallways were clear of residents as they ran labs or caught up on sleep. It left her journey to the Chief's office uninterrupted. She knocked on the door and waited for the call to enter before she pushed the door open.

Tsunade was sitting behind her computer, a frown on her face. However, the moment she spotted Sakura, she relaxed and reclined back in her chair. "Oh good, it's just you."

Her remark almost sounded insulting, but Sakura had known the woman long enough not to take her words to heart. She merely smiled to herself and closed the door before she crossed the room and dropped herself into one of the chairs in front of the Chief's desk. She studied the older woman, noting that she appeared tired but content. It didn't take long for her to connect the dots. "You had an interesting surgery today, didn't you?"

A sly smile crossed Tsunade's face. "A man came into the ER this afternoon impaled on rebar. In three different places."

"How did you get it out?"

"Carefully. We had to bring a saw into the OR."

Sakura blinked in astonishment. "There's no way that didn't cause sparks. Did you remove all the oxygen tanks from the room?"

"Of course," Tsunade smirked. "It's been a long time since I've had such a _dangerous_ procedure."

"You've always enjoyed the risky ones," Sakura murmured, her voice full of amusement. "Who did you steal it from to get in there?"

"Mitarashi Anko. An added bonus of being Chief. Remind me to give her a good surgery this week to make up for it," she said as Sakura laughed. Tsunade's gaze then turned thoughtful. "Speaking of being Chief, the Annual Association of Surgeons party is in a few weeks. You wanna come? I would ask Shizune but she's still across the world doing her own work and I'm not sure if she will be back in time or even _when_ she will be back, and-."

"Tsunade," she interrupted. Shizune was still a bit of a sore topic for the older woman and Sakura knew she could talk when riled. It was best just to interrupt her before she reached that point. "Yes, of course, I'll go. Just let me know when so I can trade on-call shifts if I need to."

Tsunade showed no outward sign of her appreciation, but Sakura knew she was glad to not go alone. These parties were usually long and contained far too many male surgeons trying to 'one-up' one another with stories of their successes from years long past. She had been to them in the past and though it was not her favorite way to spend her evening, at least they had good food and even better wine.

"I'll email you the invite," Tsunade merely said. Then she cocked her brow. "Now what is it that you want? You hardly ever come here unless you need something."

Normally her sharp, teasing words would force a smile from Sakura, but she found herself unable to now as she glanced down at the chart in her hands. "We have a terminally ill patient that has requested Death with Dignity."

Tsunade's interest immediately piqued. She held her hand out for the file and quickly flipped through it. "You and Dr. Uchiha agree this is the only option?"

Sakura nodded. "It is."

"And all the legal steps have been taken?"

"They have."

The room fell quiet as the Chief read through the rest of the chart. There was a contemplative frown on her mouth, but Sakura waited patiently as she looked through all the information. It was some minutes before she closed the file again. "Alright. I will inform Legal. Go ahead and prescribe the meds."

Sakura accepted the chart before she stood. "I will let Uchiha know."

Tsunade nodded before she glanced back at her computer. She heaved an audible sigh before she returned her attention to the screen and resumed her work.

Sakura let herself out silently and closed the door in her wake before she headed towards the in-patient ward. She found Itachi at the nurses' station reading a lab report, but he glanced at her as she set the chart on the counter next to him.

"I signed the form," she said quietly. "And I let the Chief know. She is informing Legal but said to go ahead and prescribe the medication."

"You informed the Chief?" Itachi asked in surprise.

She hesitated as it suddenly occurred to her that she may have overstepped. "I hope that's alright. I still had the chart and I needed to speak to her anyway," she lied.

Her uncertainty vanished as he shook his head. "No. Thank you for doing that."

Sakura smiled tightly in response before he reached for the file and quickly flipped through it. She observed him as he read, noting that he had his white doctors' coat on over his scrubs. Its presence didn't surprise her; they usually wore them when they spoke to patients. However, it was the small frown tugging the corners of his mouth down that drew her attention. It quickly dawned on her that he wasn't so much as reading the chart but instead mentally preparing himself for the conversation he was about to have with his patient. A sudden sense of empathy filled her.

It was in a doctor's nature to keep fighting for their patient even when they had no fight left, but to have a patient ask for them to end their care was not something she had ever experienced before. She could only imagine the helplessness Itachi felt, even if he hid it well. The urge to comfort him pressed on her, but she knew there was nothing she could say or do to ease his burden. It was a case he would have to finish and come to terms with on his own.

Sakura bit back her frown as Itachi finally closed the file. He pulled out a prescription pad from the inside of his doctor's coat and filled out an order for Secobarbial, a drug commonly used in cases like these, before he tore off the top sheet and pocketed the pad once more. However, he didn't immediately move as his gaze turned towards one of the in-patient rooms. She didn't need to ask to know it belonged to his patient. It was a long moment before Itachi finally pushed off the nurses' station and stepped away.

"Hey," Sakura called for him before he could get too far. He turned to face her, his expression unreadable. She simply held out her hand. "Give me your pager." She had anticipated his look of confusion and she merely smiled comfortingly as she explained, "I'll handle your cases until you're done."

Itachi blinked in surprise but then a grateful expression briefly crossed his face and he pulled the device from the pocket of his coat before he handed it to her. His obsidian eyes met hers evenly. "Thank you."

Sakura smiled at him again but said nothing before he turned and continued towards the patient's room. Itachi closed the door behind him, but she didn't immediately return to her cases as she watched their interaction through the window next to the door. She couldn't hear their conversation, but she didn't need to to understand what was being said.

As Itachi spoke, the young patient and her boyfriend listened with rapt attention. She knew he was explaining the results of her latest scans and that despite their best efforts, there was nothing left they could do. It wasn't until he handed the patient's boyfriend the prescription he had just written that a relieved expression crossed the young woman's face. However, the grief from her lover was obvious even from across the floor, and she watched Itachi placed a comforting hand to his arm.

Sakura could almost feel his comforting words sweep through her as he spoke to the pair. It was apparent by his soft expression and comforting gestures that he cared a great deal about his patient. It made her briefly wonder how she had ever considered him an emotionless ass, and she smiled faintly at the memory of their Pro Bono surgery those few weeks ago. She hadn't been entirely convinced back then that he wasn't still at least somewhat of an arrogant jerk, but she could feel her opinion of him actively shifting the longer they worked together. She could admit he was a good doctor – a really good doctor.

Her attention was suddenly pulled away as Itachi's pager went off in her hand. A patient was coding in the ICU. Turning her back on the room, Sakura sprinted towards the elevators as she returned to work.

xx

It was dark. The on-call room was cast into shadows with the lateness of the hour, but Itachi found himself unable to sleep no matter how much exhaustion weighed behind his eyes. He was unaware how much time passed as he continued to lie back against the hospital mattress with one hand tucked under his head and the other across his stomach. Alone in the quiet room, he stared unseeingly at the ceiling as his mind ran in circles around the events that had taken place that day.

Itachi knew there was nothing that could have been done and he knew that he had followed the law and the wishes of his patient, but it didn't alleviate the burden that he had helped end the life of a woman today – a _young_ woman, at that. The same, unpleasant knot of emotion that had formed under his breastbone twinged again. He was aware that sleep was a ways off for him, but he found himself unwilling to move and be productive as he took himself through the alternatives for the umpteenth time.

It wasn't clear how much time passed as his mind kept him company. It wasn't until the door to the on-call room opened quietly that he realized he had finally begun to nod off. He blinked his eyes open and turned his head towards the doorway just as a familiar figure slipped inside the room.

"You asleep?" Sakura whispered.

He exhaled softly before he pushed himself up. "No."

Upon his answer, she closed the door behind her before she quietly approached him, not bothering to flip on the overhead light. In the darkness, he saw her shadow stop before him and hold something small out to him. "Here's your pager back."

"Did anything happen?" Itachi asked as he accepted it from her. He set it on the bed next to his phone before he returned his attention to her.

"Your patient in the ICU coded but we were able to revive him. I'm having Hyuuga Hanabi run labs now to hopefully determine what happened but for now, he's stable."

He processed the information quickly and nodded more to himself than her. "Okay. Thank you again."

"Of course," she murmured. He could feel her gaze in the dim and a brief moment passed before she spoke once more, "How's your patient?"

The hard ball in his chest tightened again and he cleared his throat lightly before answering, "She passed some time ago."

"I'm sorry." He could hear the sincerity in her voice. "How are you doing?"

"I am fine," he lied.

It had been his patient's wish to die, but he could not shake the feeling that he had failed the young woman. It settled on him heavily, but he was not comfortable betraying just how deeply this case had affected him, even here in the darkness. He appreciated her concern, but she was not Shisui.

"All right, move over," Sakura said suddenly. To his surprise, she nudged his leg out of the way before she slipped onto the bed next to him.

He watched her with wide eyes as she settled herself until her back was pressed against the wall and her legs were stretched out in front of her and partially dangling over the bed. "What are you doing?" he asked incredulously.

Once she was comfortable, she held something out towards him. "If you're not going to talk about it, then we're going to eat about it."

Bewildered, Itachi could only stare until she waved the object again, silently pressing upon him to take it. Hesitantly, he grasped it only to grow more confused as he recognized it was a spoon. It was then that he realized Sakura had something else in her hand as she pulled the lid off a container and placed it upside down on the sheets next to her.

"I brought ice cream," she explained simply.

At a loss of what to say, Itachi stared at her, completely flummoxed with the situation. Sakura just smiled as she held the container out expectantly. A pregnant pause followed, but eventually his shoulders relaxed and he found himself smiling, if only a little. The simple action lifted the heavy weight from his shoulders.

"What kind?" he asked after a moment.

In the lowlighting, he saw her smile widen. "Chocolate, of course."

She said it like it was obvious, causing a soft snort to escape him before he dipped his spoon in the small tub and dished out a generous helping of ice cream. Sakura did the same, and in the darkness of the room, they sat side-by-side as they ate the entire container.

**_tbc…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To answer some questions: no, I did not go to Medical School. I just like anatomy and learning about medicine which is why I don't mind doing hours of research. Also, I mentioned something called UNOS. For those who are unfamiliar, it is the 'United Network for Organ Sharing'. It's the organization that decides where and which patient organs go to in the US (not sure how familiar non-US citizens are with this). And I have no idea what it's called in other countries so I stuck with UNOS.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Where it Happened  
part vi** _

Sakura dropped her patient's chart onto the counter at the nurses' station before she pulled her scrub cap from her head. A loose lock fell across her face and she swept it back and ensured her hair was still secured in the intricate braid Ino had tied together for her before she flipped open the file. Updating patient information had become so natural that her pen moved swiftly across the page, only pausing to double check lab numbers as she filled the data in.

She was just about finished when she realized a shadow had fallen across her. Her pen stilled and she peeked a glance up only to grow confused as she realized she didn't recognize the man standing before her. He did look vaguely familiar with his strong jawline and high cheekbones. His black eyes only emphasized his stunning, aristocratic features, and they seemed to dance in the overhead light as he smiled at her.

"Hi there. You're beautiful."

Flummoxed, Sakura blinked. "Uhh...thank you?"

He leaned towards her as his gaze traveled over her chart. "A Septal Myectomy," he read as he gazed up at her again. "That's a complicated procedure. You must be very good with your hands." His innuendo was only too clear as he smiled at her. "Any issues removing the thickened muscle wall through the aortic valve?"

Sakura's brow arched minutely as she gauged the stranger before her. She was impressed with his medical knowledge but only too aware that he was flirting with her as he grinned cheekily at her. He was using his looks to his advantage and they both knew it too, but she found herself more entertained by the man than vexed, and she smiled somewhat haughtily. "None. I was flawless."

"That you are," he said. His grin widened causing dimples to appear in the corners of his mouth. She warmed under his stare but she gave no outward indication as he leaned against the counter. "Perhaps you can help me then." His smile faded as he placed a hand over his chest and looked at her seriously. "I've been having some unusual symptoms lately."

"What kind of symptoms?" she asked slowly.

"My heartbeat has been erratic, my blood pressure is through the roof, and I feel flushed all over."

Sakura tapped her pen against her chart slowly as she shot him an unimpressed look. "Tell me, does describing your arousal normally work for you?"

His grin returned as he shrugged unapologetically. "Depends if they have a medical degree or not."

"And if they do?" she countered.

Her met her gaze evenly as he leaned closer. "Then I tell them they have the most stunning green eyes I've ever seen until they agree to join me for dinner."

"Just dinner?"

His dimples returned as his smile widened. "Well if you wanted to come over for _dessert_ afterwards, I wouldn't say no."

Sakura understood the implication of his words and against her better judgement, she snorted. She wondered how he had so easily managed to manipulate their conversation to make it sound like it was her idea, but rather than be offended by his obvious sexual harassment, she was amused. "You don't even know my name."

"And my world is all the more less because of it."

She shook her head but her smile was only too obvious as she finally lowered her pen and held out her hand. "Sakura."

"Shisui?"

The pair turned abruptly. Itachi stood at the other end of the nurses' desk, his expression openly surprised as he stared at the male on the other side of the counter. Sakura glanced between the two. "You two know each other?"

"Unfortunately," Itachi muttered.

Shisui's grin didn't waver as he pushed away from the counter to approach him. Stunned, Sakura watched as he threw his arm over Itachi's shoulders as he locked him in a half-hug. "Don't be like that, baby cousin. You'll make me think you didn't miss me."

_Oh._ That's why he looked so familiar to her. Now that they were standing side-by-side, the pair almost looked like twins. The only notable difference was their hairstyles. While Shisui's was short in wild curls, Itachi's fell over his shoulder and long, silky strands; but their locks were the same impossibly dark shade of black. They both shared the same angular features and even stood at the same height. Shisui's shoulders were broader making him appear larger but Itachi made up for it with his unmoving demeanor.

"Shisui, what are you doing here?" Itachi asked. It was hard to tell if it was surprise or irritation coloring his tone.

His cousin was far easier to read as he shot him an amused look. "Have you been ignoring Auntie Mikoto again? She said she was going to call you to remind you about the party tonight. Not that you need reminding; your memory was always better than mine."

"Yes, I am aware of the function this evening," Itachi said shortly. It was definitely annoyance in his voice.

Shisui ignored it as he cocked his head. "Good. Then I can assume that your valve repair tonight was intentionally scheduled late."

Itachi's mouth pressed into a thin line but he didn't reply as Sakura's pager suddenly sounded. The pair turned to her abruptly and she started as she realized she had been caught eavesdropping. Now that they were both peering at her, she realized just how intense their obsidian gazes were as they pinned her in place and she flushed under their stares. Pulling her pager from her hip, she used the device as a means to busy herself. She read the quick message before she closed her patient chart and handed it to the nurse manning the desk.

"Trauma?" Itachi asked.

Sakura smiled regretfully. "Consult."

His shoulders deflated minutely and he slid his gaze back to Shisui as his cousin beamed. "Good! They don't need you right now. Which means that you can show me the cafeteria because I haven't eaten since this morning."

"It is not even noon, Shisui."

Sakura bit back her laugh as Shisui shrugged. Itachi heaved a silent sigh but she didn't miss the small upward curve in the corner of his mouth as if he had been in this exact situation with his cousin time and time again. However, she forced her attention to turn as she collected her scrub cap from the counter before she slowly walked backwards towards the elevators. "I'll page you if I need you."

He shot her a look that silently requested she do it sooner rather than later before the two men headed the opposite direction towards the cafeteria. Sakura watched them go a moment before she finally turned around and headed down the hall.

xx

It had turned out to be a surprisingly busy day. After her consult, Sakura had been pulled into an emergency surgery as a car accident victim had suffered a crushed sternum. She had worked with Kakashi for hours as they repaired the damage but the injury had proved to be too much and they had been forced to 'pack' their patient to allow their body time to rest. The next twenty-four hours were crucial which was why Sakura had ordered Hanabi to keep a close eye on the young male.

"Well that could have gone better."

Sakura glanced at Kakashi as she stretched her hands over her head. "It could have gone worse," she countered.

He hummed in agreement as they watched the nurses wheel the patient out of the room. Only after they had disappeared down the hall did she and Kakashi turn away and head towards the surgical board. Conversation filled the wide hallway as surgeons and nurses chatted. Sakura observed the board silently as Kakashi erased their surgery from OR 2. It didn't escape her notice that Itachi's valve replacement was no longer on the schedule and she frowned curiously as she wondered if Shisui had convinced him to push back the procedure until the following day.

"I would have no complaints being in the middle of that."

Ino's familiar voice immediately caught Sakura's notice. She glanced down the nurses' station until her eyes landed on her blonde friend. She was standing with none other than Tenten as the pair stared down the hall, their body language suggesting that they were yet again gossiping. It drew an amused smirk to her face and she silently approached the pair to see who it was that had captured their attention. It shouldn't have surprised her to find their gazes locked on Itachi and Shisui. They were standing together as they discussed something privately, but it was the fact that Shisui was no longer dressed in street clothes and instead donning a pair of dark blue, attending scrubs that made her eyes narrow curiously.

Gazing back to the board, Sakura briefly reviewed the schedule again only for her brow to arch in surprise as she realized he was in fact a surgeon. He was slated to be in surgery in less than an hour. That would explain how he knew what a Septal Myectomy was, she supposed.

"You wouldn't be able to walk straight for a week," Tenten teased as Sakura turned back to the women.

Ino simply shrugged. "It would totally be worth it though."

"You two and your fantasies, I swear," Sakura laughed.

The women visibly started as they spun around to face her. Upon sight of her, Tenten released a relieved breath while Ino's hands flew to her hips. "Will you stop doing that! Besides," she continued , lowering her voice, "if you try and tell me that you haven't fantasized about riding Itachi in an on-call room, I'll write 'liar' across your forehead."

"He's attractive, I'll admit it," Sakura shrugged unapologetically. "But unlike you, he's also my boss."

"Doesn't mean you can't fantasize," Tenten muttered.

Ino quickly agreed with her before she glanced back to where the two men were still speaking. "Well what about tall-dark-and-handsome? He isn't your boss."

"His cousin?" Sakura asked.

Both Tenten and Ino turned to her abruptly and her smirk faded as her blonde friend stared at her suspiciously. "How do you know who he is?"

Sakura pointed towards the surgical board. "Did you really think Itachi was doing a Facial Reconstruction this afternoon?" The pair followed her pointed finger and blinked in surprise at the name on the board. While they were distracted, Sakura added nonchalantly, "And also because he tried to get in my pants this morning."

Ino rounded on her incredulously. "And you said no?"

"Who is getting into your pants?"

The trio turned to the newcomer to find Kakashi had stopped next to them. Ino immediately snapped her mouth shut while Tenten flushed a light shade of pink; however, Sakura only laughed as she waved her hand in the air dismissively. "No one. My pants are staying on, thank you."

"Pity," he murmured. "You have nice legs. And an amazing ass. It might be good for you to take them off every now and then."

"'kashi!" However he was already walking away, his soft chuckles trailing after him. Sakura merely shook her head, her grin obvious, before she turned back to Ino. "Stop spreading rumors."

The blonde waited until Kakashi was out of sight before she frowned. "I'm just saying. You haven't been laid in a while and it's never a good thing for a surgeon to be stressed."

"You know what would make me less stressed? You not telling me that I'm stressed."

Ino looked ready to retort but the words never left her mouth as Shisui walked by. He called a greeting to her that was accompanied by a grin and a wink, causing an automatic smile to cross her face as she returned his call. However, he didn't stay to talk as he continued towards the operating rooms.

When Sakura turned back to Tenten and Ino, they were staring at her. "What?"

Ino crossed her arms, her expression proud as if she had proved a point. "When you two finally do it, will you at least let me know how it was?"

"Do what?"

Sakura's entire body went ridge as she recognized that smooth, masculine voice. It was fortunate her back was to Itachi because she was certain he would have noticed the slight pinkness that was sure to be dusting her cheeks. Ino and Tenten looked like deer caught in the headlights and she quickly shot them a look that told them to walk away. Immediately.

"Uhh...nothing," Tenten said shortly. "I have rounds. Bye."

Ino quickly followed, not even bothering to make an excuse, and Sakura waited until the heat had died from her face before she finally turned around. Itachi was standing at the counter directly behind her as he reviewed a chart and she breathed a silent sigh of relief when she saw he seemed more preoccupied with the file than receiving an answer to his question.

"Shisui's a plastic surgeon?" she asked, changing the subject.

Itachi didn't glance at her as he updated the information. "He is."

She didn't miss the stiffness in his voice. "What? You're not happy to see him?"

"He is my best friend. Of course, I am," he answered. Then his pen stilled as he sighed. "However, he is only here because the Annual Association of Surgeons is tonight."

"Ahh, so that's the party you're going to tonight. You don't want to go?"

Itachi slid a flat look her way. "It is not exactly my idea of a good time."

"I don't know," she shrugged as he returned to his chart. "I think it could be fun."

"Do you want to come?"

Sakura stilled. She blinked in surprise at his abrupt question and opened her mouth but it was a moment before she found her voice. "Excuse me?"

Itachi looked up from the patient file to gaze at her. "Would you like to go to the party tonight?"

The way his obsidian eyes seemed to pierce right through her made her warm down to her very soul. She swallowed thickly before answering, "That is a very generous invitation, but unfortunately I already have other arrangements tonight. Next time though?"

Guilt ripped through her at the look of disappointment that flickered behind his eyes. His expression remained otherwise unreadable as he closed his patient chart and stepped away from the nurses' station. "Yes, of course."

Confused, Sakura watched him walk away only to suddenly realize he had misunderstood her. The need to chase after him and explain put her feet into motion but she stopped as her pager called for her attention. She chewed her lip indecisively but was eventually forced to turned away to respond to the page. Itachi would come to understand later that night.

xx

The grand hotel stood bright and tall against the dark backdrop of the night. External lights brightened the building, drawing attention to the event and inviting guests to the entrance. A line of expensive limousines filled the circle driveway as finely dressed men and women arrived. Everything about the lavish decor promised that the event would not be one to forget.

However, all the effort and work was lost on Itachi as he gazed down at his phone for the umpteenth time. He suppressed a sigh at finding his text and email inboxes were still empty. He only needed one trauma.

"You know, you should at least act like you wanna be here."

Itachi raised his gaze to peer at Shisui. His cousin was lounging comfortably across from him with a mostly empty glass of champagne. His expensive three-piece suit made him appear younger but his hair was still as wild and unruly as usual.

Itachi merely arched a brow as he finally pocketed his phone. "You and I both know my feelings on these types of functions."

"Yes, yes, you hate being the center of attention just because of your name, I know." He finished his drink and placed the glass in the cupholder before he relaxed back again. "You think I enjoy it? Why do you think I always drink at these functions? For fun?"

"Yes," Itachi answered flatly.

Shisui waved his hand carelessly. "Alright, well maybe I do." Then his gaze turned serious. "Just have a drink and try to play nice. Mikoto hasn't said anything but she hasn't been exactly happy while you've been gone. She's missed you."

Itachi didn't reply but a small frown settled upon his face. He knew his mother had felt his absence even if she hadn't said so during their numerous phone calls in recent weeks, and a twinge of guilt settled under his breastbone. It was only one night. He supposed he could make an effort, if only for her.

The moment their limo pulled up to the curb, Shisui slipped out. Itachi followed more languidly before the pair made their way up the carpeted stairs to the entrance of the party. The inside decor was even more posh than the entrance with stunning lights that accentuated the high ceiling and brought a sense of warmth about the room.

The affair was already mostly in swing as surgeons from all over the country mingled with food and drink in hand. Itachi immediately recognized a few well-known doctors, but the longer they stood, they more aware he became of the gazes and whispers they were creating. It appeared word would soon be spread that the Uchiha family had arrived.

However, he was forced out of his inward brooding as Shisui grasped him by the arm and tugged him off to one side. After a moment, he realized what it was that had captured his cousin's attention as the crowd parted to reveal his mother.

Even from across the room, he saw her brilliant eyes brighten as they landed on him. A wide smile stretched across her beautiful face and she quickly ended her current conversation before she stepped away to meet them. "Itachi," she beamed. Unsurprisingly, she drew him into a tight hug that lasted a few moments before she stepped back to examine him. "I'm so relieved you could make it. I hear the hospital has been keeping you busy."

"No busier than the usual," he returned.

She looked both beautiful and powerful as she always did in a black evening gown that was form-fitting, yet modest. It didn't escape his attention that there were a few grey hairs amongst her dark raven locks he hadn't noticed before, but he hide his frown as he bent to kiss her cheek. "I have missed you."

"I missed you too. You look well," Mikoto continued. She brushed away any creases she made on his suit before she glanced at Shisui. "I suppose I have you to thank for dragging him out of surgery."

"He was always very easy to guilt trip," his cousin smirked.

Itachi slipped him an unimpressed look as Mikoto smiled in amusement. However, the moment was broken as the Uchiha matriarch suddenly perked up. "Oh, would you two excuse me for a moment? It appears Nara Shikaku has just arrived. I want to speak with him about his latest Neurology research before I lose him to the rest of the crowd."

With a promise to meet again before the main dinner, she disappeared into the party. Itachi watched her go before he glanced at his cousin who had taken to eyeing a table packed with snacks on the far side of the room. "You believe you guilt tripped me into coming?"

"Of course. I've been doing it since you were five," he said nonchalantly. Upon his stare, Shisui glanced back at him before he sighed. "Oh, come on. Ever since your falling out with-" he stopped abruptly before he said _her_ name, "you-know-who, you've been avoiding your parents.

"You refuse to speak to your dad, you purposely choose times your mom is unavailable to call, and if I'm lucky, I might receive a text message. The only person not affected by all of this is Sasuke. Your brother probably doesn't even know what happened considering he's off halfway across the world. This entire situation has uprooted all of us. I know that's why you came here to work, so don't bother making excuses like 'your new hospital is one of the best in the country'."

"It is one of the best hospitals in the country," Itachi countered smoothly. "Tsunade has been awarded multiple prestigious awards for her work. It is an honor to work under her."

Shisui scoffed lightly. "Excuse. But I'm not here to argue with you about this tonight. We'll do it tomorrow. Tonight, I plan on eating too much steak and drinking too much champagne."

As always, his cousin managed to draw an amused smirk from him even when he wanted nothing more than to be annoyed; and with a shake of his head, he followed his best friend towards the table. They slipped between attendees, stopping to chat politely with surgeons as their names were called.

They had barely made it halfway across the room when Itachi heard his name called again. He turned expectantly and blinked in surprise as he recognized someone he hadn't seen since in nearly a decade. "Kisame."

Itachi had forgotten just how large the man was as he easily towered over the rest of the crowd, but he would recognize that cocky grin anywhere. "It's been a long time, Weasel."

"So it has," he agreed. It had been so long he had nearly forgotten the nickname the older man had given him. "I see you have matured since our intern year."

Kisame merely smirked. "And I see you're just as frosty as ever. Still stealing surgeries?"

"I have no idea what you are referring to," Itachi said lightly. However, there was an amused curve in the corner of his mouth as he recalled the numerous procedures Itachi had _weaseled_ his way into. He should have known Kisame would never let it go.

"And what of yourself?" Itachi continued. "Last I had heard, your boards had been so successful, you beat out all the candidates in the running for Amegakure. I was not aware you had even applied."

"I hadn't," he retorted. "I suppose you can I say I learned from the best."

Itachi chuckled lightly. A smart reply balanced on the tip of his tongue but it was left unsaid as a flash of pink caught the corner of his eye and drew his gaze. It took him a moment to find what it was that had captured his attention, but then he recognized her amongst the sea of bodies as she crossed the room.

_Sakura._

Even in a room full of richly dressed guests, she stood out in her white dress. She slipped through the crowd easily until she came to stop next to Tsunade. She greeted the surgeons already speaking with their Chief before she leaned forward to whisper something privately in the older woman's ear.

With sudden understanding, it occurred to Itachi why she had been unable to accompany him tonight. She had already been invited by the Chief. Whatever suspicions he had about their relationship suddenly seemed less outlandish as he realized he had been right: they knew one another on a personal level. Curiosity stirred within him as he watched their interaction.

With her back to him, Itachi was unable to make out Tsunade's expression as Sakura spoke but his eyes caught movement as she accepted something from the older woman before she excused herself again. He tracked her movements as she made her way towards the opposite wall and in the general direction of the bar until she disappeared amongst the many attendees.

Pulling his gaze from her, Itachi faced Kisame once more . "You will have to excuse me. There's something I must see to."

In his distraction, someone else had approached to speak with his old colleague. Kisame glanced up at him and waved him off before he returned to his conversation. Itachi backed away before he weaved his way towards the bar where he assumed Sakura had vanished to. It appeared he had guessed right for as he approached, he found her waiting patiently along the long counter.

She set a glass down in front of her as she smiled at the bartender. "Sake, please."

He returned her smile as he took her glass and put it aside before he reached for a fresh one. "Coming right up."

As soon as the bartender turned away, Itachi made himself known. "You have a most unusual relationship with the Chief."

Sakura turned her head to gaze at him, causing her pale pink hair to fall over her shoulder in soft curls with the movement. It took him a moment to realize that the brilliant shine in her hair was caused by the silver clips keeping her bangs out of her face as they caught the light, but it was her eyes that drew his attention. They were rimmed with subtle eyeliner and shadow, making her sharp intellect glimmer behind her dark emerald irises.

She looked absolutely stunning as a sly smile crossed her face. "I promise it's not as unusual as you think."

"A family friend then?" he asked innocently as he stepped up to the bar until they could converse more privately. "Or perhaps a longtime mentor?"

"Well I can't tell you all my secrets," she teased. "How then would I get out of trouble when I choose to disobey you?"

"Are you planning a mutiny?"

Sakura shrugged. "I haven't decided yet. Depends if there's a case worth mutinying for."

"Well at least I know where I stand."

Her smile widened before she turned back to the bar as the bartender returned with her order. Itachi allowed himself a moment to observe the modest dip of her halter and the subtle swell of her hips under her dress before the material fell in a waterfall of silk to the floor. She was wearing heels, a fact he knew only because he didn't have to tilt his chin down to speak with her.

It surprised him to learn that he had grown so familiar to her in the times they stood together during surgery and while consulting that he was accustomed to the simply things such as her height. She normally stood level with his chin, while now he could meet her gaze evenly. Even the subtle smell of her shampoo had become a familiarity. It was muted now with the faint perfume she had chosen to wear for the occasion, but it didn't smell any less pleasantly.

"What?"

Itachi's gaze found hers again and he blinked as he realized he had been caught staring. However, he didn't let his thoughts show outwardly as he smiled lightly. "I have just grown used to your scrubs. I was beginning to believe you were unable to come tonight because they were the only attire you owned."

"I think what you meant to say was 'Sakura, you look nice tonight'," she said smartly. "And I didn't tell you I couldn't come, Itachi. Only that I had other arrangements."

It was the first time that he could recall of her using his given name and for the first time that night, he felt himself relax. Sakura had a way of putting her patients at ease and it appeared the same held true outside their line of work. The moment he and Shisui had entered the event, he could feel the stares as their name hung over their heads, but the way Sakura was smiling at him now as quiet laughter reflected in her eyes made him feel as though he wasn't the son of a prestigious family; he was just simply Itachi.

"My mistake then," he murmured.

Her smile widened before her gaze visibly traveled over him once. "I have to say I am enjoying the suit more than the scrubs. Although, we all already know you do those scrubs justice."

He warmed at her bold words but his curiosity also stirred and he arched his brow. "We?"

"Oh, come on. A genius like you? You can't tell me that even after all these months, you haven't heard Ino gossiping about you."

A memory of Sakura standing with the blonde General Surgeon and their friend from Ortho from that afternoon sudden roused in his mind. He hadn't understood their looks of mortification at the time as he had been too preoccupied with other things, but he supposed it all did make sense. His family seemed to have that effect on others.

"I see," he murmured. "They are expecting us to sleep together."

"Actually, they think I'm going to sleep with Shisui." Upon his look of bemusement, Sakura laughed. "I promise I'm not going to. I've known him for all of twelve hours and even I can see he's a flirt. He's cute but not my type. Besides I'm sure he's already found someone else to preoccupy him."

Itachi wondered if she realized just how accurate her statement was. It was somewhat amazing his cousin hadn't had any claims of sexual harassment filed against him as he must have slept with nearly every nurse and resident at his previous and current hospital. The fact that she had drawn such an observation in so little time was quite amusing.

"And what of yourself?" he asked. His gaze briefly drifted down to her untouched glass on the counter. "Will sake be keeping you company tonight?"

"It's for the Chief. I'm sober tonight, I'm afraid."

"The better to make your escape back to the hospital?"

Sakura eyed him for a moment as a small, knowing smile crossed her face. "I will neither confirm nor deny that." Then she arched her brow. "Not that I see a drink in your hand. Waiting for Hanabi's call?"

A smirk was his only reply before they were approached by another. "Sakura."

Her teasing gaze lingered on him a moment longer before she turned to answer the call of her name. Immediately her amusement fell as her expression shifted to one of genuine, confused shock. "Shizune? What are you doing here? I thought you were across the world completing your work."

Itachi too gazed at the dark-haired woman. He didn't recognize her, but given by Sakura's reaction it appeared the two women were long acquainted, even if their body language suggested they were uncertain how to interact.

"I was until a few days ago," Shizune answered. "I only just arrived this morning."

"You've been gone for three years. What are you doing here?" There was no hostility to Sakura's question; merely pure confusion as she stared wide-eyed.

"I know," she said as she smiled regretfully. Then she glanced at Itachi. "I'm sorry. I interrupted."

"No," Sakura said quickly. She turned to him and flashed him an apologetic look. "Can we talk later?"

Without pause, Itachi nodded. He knew a dismissal when he saw one. "Of course. Enjoy your evening."

He backed away respectfully, leaving the two women to speak privately, before his attention turned to searching for Shisui. However, he chanced one glance back at Sakura as she and Shizune moved away from the bar as curiosity tugged on him.

It was slowly becoming more and more apparent to him that he knew very little about Sakura. While he had come to learn her skill and thought process well in recent months, her personal life still remained a mystery to him and he felt himself drawn to her. Sakura was highly intelligent and incredibly gift, but also private - a fact he found most unusual given her expressiveness. Given their first surgery together the first week of his arrival, he had expected them to buttheads frequently but she was turning out to be someone he enjoyed speaking with and someone that kept him on his toes on an intellectual level.

As he watched her disappear back into the crowd, his parting thought was he sincerely hoped it was not the last he saw of her that evening.

xx

Sakura paced the large ballroom slowly. Her gaze travelled over the guests still in attendance as she walked with no particular destination in mind. It just felt good to move as it relieved the ache her heels had created in the soles of her feet after having stood and listened to the many surgeons do their best to impress Tsunade for so long.

That had been until a few minutes ago when Shizune had finally made her presence known to the Chief. Just as Sakura had expected, she had been surprised. And then angry. The pair had chosen to take their long overdue conversation elsewhere only too aware that a continued discussion within the party would draw unwanted attention, leaving Sakura to her own devices.

With the Chief now gone, she no longer had any reason to stay and she weighed her options slowly as she circled the room. She was sure she would be of more use back at the hospital or far more comfortable at home, but she found no reason to make a beeline for the door. She was after all still in the presence of some of the highest regarded surgeons in the country.

There were some faces she recognized from medical journals and previous conferences she had attended in the past but for the most part, many remained unknown to her. From her past experience, she had learned that the more prestigious surgeons always had a fluctuating crowd around them as guests attempted to meet their idols and get their names known to them.

It didn't surprise her in the least to see Itachi was one of those surgeons. She hadn't been looking for him but her gaze had been drawn by the ever-constant flow of company that stopped to speak with him and Shisui. The pair were conversing with another male she didn't recognize but given by his expression, it appeared he had been attempting to tell them a story for some time now as he continued to be interrupted.

From her vantage, it was difficult to tell if Itachi was relieved or irritated by the disruptions. She was unable to see Shisui's expression but judging by Itachi's, it was apparent he wanted nothing more than to make an escape.

A small smirk crossed Sakura's face as she watched the latest guest interrupt to introduce herself. She was tall and gorgeous in a bold, red dress as she smiled and took his hand in a demure touch. However, it didn't escape Sakura's notice that her hand lingered longer than necessary as she expressed her admiration for his work - or at least Sakura assumed that was what she was doing. It was the usual conversation start at these types of gatherings. It was usually followed by an offer to get a drink.

However, to her surprise, Itachi merely withdrew his hand politely before he returned his attention to the man telling his story. His dismissal was clear and she didn't miss the look of disappointment that crossed the woman's face. His blatant rejection stirred amusement within her as she wondered if this was a normality for him during these events.

"It was a pleasure seeing you again, Doctor Nara. If you ever find yourself in my neck of the woods, please don't hesitate to visit."

At that familiar name, Sakura's attention piqued. She turned to locate the conversation and caught a glimpse of a fairly young looking man shaking hands with an older gentleman a small distance from her. "I will be sure to give you a call."

With his back to her, Sakura wasn't entirely sure if she recognized the man that had been addressed but her curiosity always got the best of her and she quietly approached as his acquaintance excused himself. "Doctor Nara. Any relation to Nara Shikamaru?" she asked.

It was only her years as a surgeon that kept her from blinking in surprise as he turned to face her. He was quite handsome but her eyes were automatically drawn to the two long, deep scars that ran across his face - one along his temple and the other down one cheek. He appeared most intimidating with his intense gaze but it quickly softened as he smiled. "Shikamaru? He's my son."

Sakura smiled at his answer. "I've worked with him for a number of years. I wasn't aware Shika had any other family within the medical field," she said not unkindly. "Is he here tonight?"

The man laughed lightly. "If you are really acquainted with him, you should know that he refuses to attend these types of events."

"I guess I should. Too _bothersome_ , I suppose."

At Shikamaru's familiar complaint, the older man chuckled before he held out his hand. "Bothersome is right. I'm Doctor Nara Shikaku."

Sakura's smile widened as she accepted his hand and introduced herself.

For some time, the pair spoke uninterrupted. It surprised Sakura to learn that her go-to Radiologist had in fact completed a Neurology fellowship after his father, but had later decided to pursue a career in nuclear medicine after he had discovered an interest in medical imaging techniques. Ino had rumored to her that Shikamaru was by all definitions a genius - albeit a laidback one - but she had thought it to just be gossip until she spoke with his father.

It quickly became apparent to her that Shikamaru got his intelligence from his dad. Shikaku was equal parts brilliant and intimidating, even to her who was already so accustomed to being in the presence of some of the country's sharpest minds. He was motivated and determined in continuing the medical society's understanding of the brain, using all of his free time to do research and explore scientific concepts that seemed impossible even given the current day and age.

Sakura was enraptured with their conversation and felt disappointment when Shikaku's wife finally found him and insisted on pulling him away. Her mind was still whirling as she watched him disappear into the crowd but eventually she forced herself to look away as she pulled her phone from her clutch. She had to tell Ino about her experience. She didn't doubt her blonde friend would grill her for information as she had never actually met any of Shikamaru's family personally, even after being close friends with him for years. She shot off the message quickly before she returned her phone to her purse again.

It appeared the party was still in full swing as the many guests continued to mingle at and around the bar. Her gaze wandered a moment as she studied the many faces. To her surprise, she found Itachi with Shisui still standing in the same spot and still donning the same expression. There was a new man standing before them and judging by how quickly Shisui was draining his champagne, his story was just as uninteresting as the rest. A small, amused smile crossed her face but it was pity that finally motivated her to move forward.

"In all my years of surgery, I had never seen a man with this many stab wounds. I was surprised he was able to speak at all," the man said enthusiastically.

Shisui hummed conversationally before he took another large drink from his glass. It was apparent that even the normally talkative male was impatient for the story to wrap up but neither he nor Itachi seemed willing to excuse themselves and she briefly wondered what it was that made them reluctant to dismiss him.

"We did our best to control the bleeding but we knew we had to get him into surgery as soon as possible. I believe we counted six wounds before we decided to move him. Of course, a laparotomy was the only option-."

"Did you consider non-operative management?" Sakura suddenly chimed in. "It's far less invasive with a much better recovery time."

Upon sight of her, Shisui immediately perked up while Itachi glanced her way. She stopped beside him but didn't spare him a look as she addressed the male surgeon. It was apparent that he was unimpressed and perhaps a bit put off by her sudden arrival, but she merely smiled politely as she engaged him in a professional debate.

"No," he answered. "My patient was already hypotensive. He was in shock."

"Hypotension could be caused by a number of medications. Did you ask if he was taking anything?" Sakura asked. She purposely made her tone overly polite and she worded her question modestly so as not to come off as aggressive and challenging. If there was one thing she had learned over the years, it was male surgeons easily became offended when questioned by women.

"He said he was not."

Sakura arched her brow subtly. It was not uncommon for patients to lie - whether intentionally or not, it was a fact that they all did - and she briefly wondered if he honestly believed his patient or if he was purposely being short with her. She could only assume it was the latter, but she hid her amusement that she had so easily riled him.

"Was there any peritonitis?" she asked, referring to the inflammation of the tissue lining the inner wall of the abdomen.

"Surprisingly, no, which is why we took him to get a CT," he continued. She didn't miss the way his body language turned subtly authoritative as his hand came to rest on his hip. "It revealed the knife had clipped his liver so we performed a laparoscopy."

Sakura chose to ignore his defensive tone as she nodded thoughtfully. "Studies have shown that stab wound patients with injured organs can still be successfully managed without one. And it even results in a shorter hospital stay, hence why it might be preferred."

"And what study would that be?"

"It was published in the Scandinavian Journal of Trauma some years ago."

A deep frown settled upon his face upon her answer. She didn't miss the way his gaze flickered to Itachi and Shisui but when neither male spoke in his defense, his attention slipped back to Sakura. "I suppose I will have to look it up some time then." He smiled tightly before he pulled his phone from his pocket. "If you'll excuse me."

Sakura silently watched him walk away. The moment he was out of earshot, her personality reemerged as she pouted at his retreating form. "I don't think he liked me very much."

She turned to face the pair as Itachi shot her a mildly amused look and Shisui grinned. "No one likes a know-it-all."

The corner of her mouth curved into a smirk as she cocked her head. "You do. You've been impressed with me since the moment you laid eyes on me, Shisui," she teased airily.

"I will admit I like laying eyes on you," he flirted as his gaze travelled over her form slowly. "I wasn't aware you were here tonight. You should have called me. I would have let you be my arm candy."

"Shisui, where are your manners? I personally know your parents raised you better than that."

Shisui froze as an ' _oh shit'_ expression crossed his face. Sakura saw him flash Itachi a look of help before he finally turned around with a placating smile to face the woman that had scolded him. "Auntie Mikoto, I was just teasing."

The older woman shot him a warning as she approached before her gaze fell to Sakura. "I apologize, dear. I promise he isn't normally so crass."

Sakura simply smiled. "I get the feeling he is."

Mikoto shot her a knowing look before she glanced at Itachi. He took his cue immediately as Shisui took their distraction to slip away unnoticed. "Mother, this is Dr. Haruno Sakura. She works in my department at the hospital. Sakura, meet my mother, Uchiha Mikoto."

Upon her name, Sakura blinked in bewilderment as she suddenly realized who exactly she was standing before. It seemed so obvious now with her familiar, stunning looks and brilliant, dark eyes. She didn't know why she hadn't realized it before. _Auntie_ Mikoto, as Shisui had addressed her.

Automatically Sakura felt herself become a little flustered. This was not only Itachi's mother but also the founder of the Uchiha Foundation, a woman that had made remarkable breakthroughs for not only science but women in the field as well. She forced herself to breathe as she held her hand out. "It's an honor to meet you, Dr Uchiha. Your contributions to the medical community have been immeasurable just in recent years."

"Aren't you sweet," Mikoto said demurely. She accepted her hand before she eyed Sakura curiously. "I must ask though, if you work under Itachi, you must be a Cardiovascular Surgeon as well. Where does your knowledge of trauma surgery come from?"

Sakura hid her surprise. She hadn't been aware Mikoto had heard her blatant interruption into Itachi and Shisui's conversation and she swallowed as she hoped she hadn't come off as egotistical or arrogant. "I was raised by trauma surgeons. It's always been a point of interest to me, even though I chose to specialize in another field."

"Your parents are surgeons then as well?"

Her expression was politely curious, but Sakura found herself hesitate. It was a complicated answer and she fought for the words to describe her circumstances without seeming dismissive or belittling. However, before she could form a reply, an attention-drawing beep sounded from her purse. She smiled apologetically as she snapped open her clutch and withdrew her phone. "Excuse me."

Quickly she silenced the device before she read the message displayed on the screen. Her expression turned solemn as she read the message from Kakashi.

"What is it?" Itachi asked.

"My car accident victim just crashed. Kakashi is rushing him back into the OR," she said as she typed a quick reply. "I should get back to the hospital."

"Of course," Mikoto nodded understandingly. "We'll call you a car immediately."

"Thank you."

Sakura smiled at the older woman and turned to Itachi to excuse herself before she made her leave towards the main door, but something about his expression gave her pause. There seemed to be a hidden glint of disappointment in his gaze and perhaps a small hint of anticipation that made her reluctant to leave him behind. She already knew she only needed to ask.

"Actually, I hate to pull you away from the party, but I could really use your hands, Itachi. Would you mind joining me?"

She saw his brow pinched minutely as he stared at her curiously, but eventually he nodded. "Yes, of course. " He then turned to his mother. "I apologize, but I must go."

Mikoto sighed but there was a small playing on her lips. "I suppose I've tortured you long enough tonight. Fine, go. Save a life."

A relieved smile passed his face and Sakura purposely busied herself with adjusting her purse to give them the appearance of privacy as he stepped forward to place a kiss on her cheek. As Itachi turned back to her, Sakura said a polite farewell to Mikoto before she led the way to the main entrance.

Outside, Itachi waited beside her on the stairs for their car to pick them up. Silence stretched between them as she checked the incoming messages on her phone for updates on her patients. She absorbed the information quietly and mentally considered all the scenarios of what could happen next until she heard Itachi clear his throat lightly. "You do not need me, do you?"

Slowly she looked up from her phone to gaze at him. Immediately she realized he had seen through her lie and it relieved her to find an amused curve playing in the corners of his mouth. She shot him a sly smile. "Of course not. I'm an excellent surgeon. But I figured this would be enough to let you escape for the evening. Unless of course you would rather return to the endless admirers."

He sent her a subtle look that expressed exactly how he felt, causing her to laugh lightly before he cocked a brow at her. "Is your patient even crashing?"

"Unfortunately yes," she said as her smile slowly faded. Her gaze returned to her phone again as another message came through. "But I wasn't lying when I said I could use your hands. I would honestly appreciate it if you joined me in the OR."

With her attention focused on the latest update, she missed the warm smile Itachi sent her way before he placed a hand to the small of her back and gently urged her forward as their car pulled up to the curb.

"I believe I will take you up on that offer."

_**tbc...** _


	7. Chapter 7

_**Where it Happened  
part vii** _

A soft chime sounded as the elevator reached the bottom floor. The noise drew Sakura's gaze from her phone and she briskly stepped out as the doors slid open to allow her access to the ER. The floor was busy as it usually was in the morning as nurses and doctors tended to patients with injuries ranging from severe spinal damage to scraped knees.

Sakura slid her phone into her pocket and checked her pager again before she gazed around. As soon as she spotted Kakashi, she hurried over to him. "You called for a Cardio consult?"

He tossed her a glance before he continued to address the deep gash on the arm of the patient lying in the bed. "Bicyclist versus car. I paged Ortho but he needs to be checked for any chest trauma before they can do anything for him. He doesn't present any abdominal tenderness but I wanted you to take a look before I clear him for Tenten."

Sakura's gaze fell to the patient. He was covered in deep cuts and bruises while his leg laid bent at an odd angle, obviously broken. He appeared to be mostly out of it with the pain medication he had been given but even to her trained eyes, she could see the easy draw of his breaths. Irritation stirred under her skin and she crossed her arms. "You already did an abdominal examination?"

"Yes."

"So you called me down here to do what? Double check your work?"

Kakashi's expression turned vaguely bewildered as he briefly looked at her. "I called you down here to make sure he doesn't have any injuries to the thoracic cavity. What's the problem?"

"My problem is I have a double bypass surgery today on a woman who received a heart transplant only three years ago," she said impatiently. "This is a huge surgery. I'm pretty busy."

"You should've asked Uchiha to come down then."

Sakura frowned. "He's in surgery."

"Well I needed a consult," he said, briefly pausing in his work to look at her. "Unless you would prefer I send my patient home without one."

She cast a quick glance at the patient to see he was fortunately too drugged up on pain relievers to understand their conversation before she turned back to Kakashi with an unimpressed look. "Don't get snooty with me. It's unbecoming of you."

"Then do the damn exam and get back to your work."

His words were softened by the playful smirk tugging on the corner of his mouth and Sakura sighed exaggeratedly before she purposely bumped her hip against him as she maneuvered around him to retrieve a pair of gloves. "You know, if you want to see me, all you have to do is ask," she quipped as she walked around the opposite side of the bed to give them both their room.

Kakashi continued his work on suturing the long jagged cut on the man's arm, only pausing very briefly to toss her an amused look. "But then I would miss that irritated scowl of yours I adore so much."

"I don't scowl."

If it wasn't for the fact she had long grown immune to his devastatingly handsome face years ago, the smirk he sent her would have made her blush. "You don't?"

Immediately she realized she was making the exact expression he was referring to and she made a face at him before she finished her exam. She pulled her gloves off as she eyed the man across from her. "It all looks good. The next time you page me just to see me, at least have coffee waiting."

"Take mine."

Sakura blinked in surprise as she dropped her teasing tone. "I was kidding."

"I'm going to be here suturing for a while," Kakashi shrugged as he flickered his gaze up at her. "It'll probably be cold by the time I get done. Just take it. I'll get another."

Gratitude filled her at his generous offer and she smiled at him from across the hospital bed. "Thanks, 'kashi."

"Yep. Now go back to prepping for your surgery before I have to hear about it again."

Her smile widened as he waved her away before she turned to approach the main desk where his coffee remained untouched on the edge of the counter. She took a long, much needed sip as she absorbed the warmth and energy it brought before she lowered the cup with a sigh of relief.

"Long night?"

Sakura glanced towards Ino as her blonde friend accepted a patient chart from the nurse behind the counter. "Long morning," she answered. "What about you?"

"Very long night," she murmured.

Sakura took another drink as Ino attempted to smother a yawn only to lower the cup again as something suddenly occurred to her. "Wait, didn't you have a date with Shikamaru last night?"

The look Ino sent her could only be described as devious.

Her eyes widened. _"You two slept together?"_

Ino immediately shushed her before she glanced around to ensure their conversation hadn't been overheard. When she turned back to Sakura, there was a small smile playing in the corner of her mouth. "It's not like we meant to. It just sorta happened." She paused for a brief moment before muttering, "Three times."

"Three!" Sakura wasn't sure if she was more shocked or amused.

Ino smirked and shrugged shamelessly as she spun the pen in her hand around her fingers. "Turns out he's not as lazy in the bedroom as he is everywhere else."

"What happened to the Uchiha Twins?" Sakura asked curiously. "Last week you were fantasizing about being pinned between them."

"I can still fantasize," she defended with a frown. "It doesn't mean it's going to happen. Besides, I've been trying to get Shika to ask me out on a date for a year now. I wasn't going to say no."

Sakura's smile widened, but whatever congratulations she was about to offer was left unsaid as two paramedics burst through the ER doors with a stretcher between them. "Incoming trauma. There was a head-on collision. Patient is a thirty-two-year-old male. He was complaining of abdominal pain at the scene and it looks like he hit his head pretty hard. He became confused and disoriented en route."

Immediately Sakura and Ino sprang into action. They fell into step beside the paramedics as they helped push the stretcher towards a Trauma Room. "Let's get x-ray in here and page Neuro," Ino said.

Sakura looked to where she had last seen Kakashi. "Hatake, get in here!"

He was already on his feet and pulling off his gloves to replace them before he joined them. Together, they pulled the stretcher alongside the single hospital bed in the room before they transferred the man over. As soon as he was settled, the paramedics passed their notes off to a nurse before they took their leave to give them room. Sakura made quick work of cutting his shirt away as Ino reached for gauze to clear the blood away from his head.

With her trained eyes, Sakura could already see the bruising beginning to start around his stomach before she began her examination. "Abdominal tenderness and possible crush injuries," she called out.

"He has a 5 centimeter head lac with boney deformity in the temporal region," Ino added. "And there's swelling in the neck. Where's Neuro?"

"I paged them," a nurse informed her. "They should be on their way."

Kakashi stepped up beside Sakura as he looked down at the patient. "Sir, can you tell me your name?"

The man's eyes fluttered but he provided no answer. With trained hands, the trio continued to work as they quickly assessed his injuries and prioritized them. Kakashi ordered x-rays while Sakura examined his chest for injuries and Ino attempted to determine the extent of her head wound until Neurology arrived.

It was a relief when Neji walked through the door. "What do you have?"

Ino repeated the information to him as she moved away to allow him access to work while Sakura pressed the disc of her stethoscope to his chest. She listened carefully to the beat of his heart and the fill of his lungs before she replaced it around her neck and looked to the nearest surgical resident. "Order an EKG. I want to see what his heart is doing."

"That is going to have to wait," Neji said, drawing her attention. "We need to move him to CT. He could potentially have a brain bleed."

Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but the words never came as a sudden groan sounded from their patient. "He's regaining consciousness."

"Sir, can you hear me?" Neji asked. "Can you tell me your name?"

The patient groaned low in his throat again and his eyelids fluttered as he reached for the IV in his arm. Sakura quickly grabbed his hand and pulled it away before he could injure himself further. "There was a car accident, but we're looking at you now," she told him calmly as he strained weakly under her grasp. "You're in the hospital."

At her words, his resistance suddenly strengthened and Sakura pinned his wrist to the bed as Neji quickly turned to the cart full of medicine behind him and yanked open a drawer. "He's confused and agitated. I'm going to push a sedative."

"Better hurry," Kakashi pressed.

Neji returned to the patient's bedside quickly but before he could push the drug into the man's system, he jerked his arm away from Sakura and violently knocked Neji away. His back hit the wall of the trauma room hard as Sakura, Kakashi and Ino all attempted to restrain the patient. His struggles turned increasingly violent as he kicked out at Kakashi before he pushed himself up.

Sakura fought to get the disoriented man to lie down to prevent further injury, but he merely grasped her by the scrub shirt and threw her aside. Her hip made contact with the corner of a trauma cart as her knee slammed into something hard, but adrenaline helped her ignore the initial pain as she helped the other surgeons regain control of the situation.

The struggle ensued.

xx

Itachi pressed the wash button in the scrub sink to cease the flow of water before he reached for a towel. He dried his hands slowly as he peered into the OR and watched the nurses prepare his patient for transport to the Cardiac ICU. It had been a fairly short but successful operation, leaving him feeling a heartfelt sense of relief that he had been able to make a positive difference. Days like these reminded him exactly why he had been so committed to becoming a surgeon, why he had risked countless hours studying and practicing and giving up so many hours of his life.

The feeling lingered as he eventually turned away from the OR. He dropped his towel into the marked bin before he exited the scrub room and continued towards the cardiac ward. There were a handful of other patients he wanted to check in on before he headed into his office to catch up on paperwork.

He found his charts behind the nurses' desk and pulled his most critical patient. Their stats looked good from that morning's rounds, but there was still some information missing and he looked up just as his resident hurried by. "Hyuuga, how are the patient's coags in Room Three?" he asked, stopping her.

Hanabi halted her brisk walk before she spun to face him, causing her long, brown hair to fall over her shoulder. There was a stack of files in her arms, giving him the impression she had been quite busy that morning. "I'm not sure. I haven't had the chance to get their lab results yet."

"Why not?" Itachi asked sternly as he felt his content mood vanish. "I asked you to complete that task before I went into surgery."

"I know. I'm sorry," she apologized. "It's just that with Doctor Haruno in the ER, she asked me to take over prepping her double bypass patient and to keep an eye on her critical cases, and I just haven't had the time to run upstairs yet."

"Then tell her she needs to have the nurses watch after her critical patients and page her if there are any changes," he ordered, causing Hanabi's expression to grow bemused. Itachi arched his brow impatiently as he waited for her to speak. "What?"

"No, she's _in_ the ER. As a patient."

Immediately Itachi's demeanor changed as he flipped his chart closed and reached for his pager. He frowned when he saw he didn't have any new messages. "What happened? Why wasn't I paged?"

"You were in surgery. She said it wasn't a big deal."

His frown deepened. Sakura was a doctor; if there was anything doctors were good at, it was downplaying their own injuries and illnesses. Quickly he replaced the chart before he moved towards the elevators, but not before turning back to Hanabi. "Have the nurses observe the critical patients and go get my labs now."

The young resident nodded before she hurried down the hall. As she disappeared, Itachi turned away to continue towards the elevators. He rode the lift to the bottom floor before he weaved through the many halls in the hospital until he reached the ER. He read the digital patient board until he found Sakura's name. She was in Trauma One.

The blinds in the room were drawn to provide privacy but Itachi didn't wait to knock before he pushed the door open and entered. Sakura was sitting up on the trauma bed, her shoes off and on the floor while her scrub bottoms lay folded on a trauma tray. There was a blanket across her lap to keep her decent, but her arms were crossed and there was an impatient frown betraying her annoyance as Tenten sat on a doctor's chair behind the room's computer.

Upon his entrance, both women looked up at him. "What happened?" he asked.

"A patient became disoriented and aggressive. Hatake and Ino have him in surgery now," Tenten answered as Sakura's scowl deepened. The orthopedic surgeon ignored her as her attention returned to the computer screen. "Hyuuga received a few lacerations, and Sakura sustained a mild bruise on her hip, but the scans are showing a Grade 1 sprain of her LCL ."

"It's nothing. I'm fine," Sakura said dismissively.

Itachi glanced at her again before he visually examined exposed leg that was stretched out across the bed. Other than some slight bruising, she appeared mostly uninjured and his eyes caught the way her other leg hung off the bed as though she were seconds from jumping up and returning to work.

"It is not nothing," Tenten countered, drawing his gaze again. The brunette shot Sakura a stern look. "Both the ultrasound and the MRI show you have swelling. If you push yourself, you're going to cause it to tear, which will result in surgery. You need to stay off of it for a few days."

"You're exaggerating," Sakura sighed. "And I have a major surgery in an hour. Just wrap it up. It'll be fine."

Itachi got the impression they had been having this same conversation for a while now, but he ignored their silent staring contest as he walked around Tenten to look at the scans himself. He wasn't as well versed in ligaments as the brunette, but even his eyes could see the thin band of tissue that connected the femur to the fibula was indeed inflamed.

"I agree with Dr. Tenten. You need to avoid straining your injury," Itachi murmured as he turned back to Sakura. "I can clear my schedule and perform your surgery."

She eyes widened in disbelief. "What? Absolutely not!" she shook her head. "I have been planning this procedure for months."

Itachi pursed his lips before his gaze slipped back to Tenten as he shot her a subtle look. She understood his silent request immediately and quietly stood. "I need to get some bindings. I'll be right back."

Sakura watched her go and waited until the door closed again before she sighed in agitation. She chewed her lip only to release it a moment more as she finally uncrossed her arms. "This is ridiculous. It barely hurts," she said as she tossed the blanket aside. "I have work to do. Where are my pants?"

Itachi barely registered that he had a perfect view of her tone legs and her panties as they peeked out from under her scrub shirt as she moved to stand. Immediately he stepped towards her and stopped her from putting weight on her injury. "Sakura, sit down."

For a moment, she stared up at him indignantly until eventually she followed his order and lowered herself back down, her expression openly showing her displeasure.

"You are in no condition to be on your feet for the next six hours," he told her calmly. "Even longer if there are complications."

"So what? You're sending me home?"

"Yes, I am," he said firmly. Sakura's expression changed to one of open disbelief and he quickly continued, "I am aware it is not ideal, but the patient must come first. I have been following your surgical plan. I know what you plan to do and I know how you intend to do it. Allow me to do this for you."

Her irritation was obvious as she openly glared at him, but eventually the tension in her shoulders lessened and she relaxed back against the bed. "Fine," she said begrudgingly.

She purposely avoided his gaze as she grabbed the blanket and covered herself again, obviously still disgruntled. She tugged the edges of it around herself before she sat back again and rested her chin on her palm. Itachi could feel her annoyance rolling off of her in waves. He understood her frustrations and knew her exasperation was not directed at him but rather her circumstances and how there was nothing she could do to change it.

He wanted nothing more than to help her, but he knew he needed to heed Tenten's advice. If Sakura further injured herself, he would be left without her skill in the ER for more than just a few days and that was not something he was willing to risk. She could be angry if she wished, but he would not bend on this.

"Feel better, Haruno. I will update you when I finish," Itachi finally said after a long pause.

Sakura pursed her lips together hard but she eventually glanced in his direction and nodded minutely. Only once he received her silent reply did he give her foot a comforting squeeze through her sock before he turned and exited the trauma room.

His thoughts lingered on her as he ventured back to the Cardiac Ward but the moment he stepped out of the elevator and onto the floor he forced himself to focus; he had a major surgery to prepare for.

xx

"Are you sure you don't need anything?"

Sakura looked at Naruto out of the corner of her eyes before she shook her head with a soft sigh. "No, I'm fine."

The blond frowned and shifted his weight as he teetered between wanting to stay and knowing he had to leave. "Are you sure? I could always call someone in to cover for me."

"They've called you twice, Naruto. They need you at the hospital."

"I know," he said shifting his weight again. "I just don't want to leave you here by yourself. Should I call Ino?"

"Do not call Ino. I'm sure she's with Shikamaru tonight," Sakura said as she finally turned her full attention away from her flat screen television mounted on the wall. She picked up the remote from the arm of her couch and paused the show before she gazed at Naruto again. "Besides, it's just a sore knee. I don't need to be babysat."

He briefly glanced to where she had stretched out her bandaged leg across the length of the couch before he let out a low sigh. "Fine. But you'll call if you need anything."

"I won't," she said not unkindly.

He cocked his brow at her. "But you will?"

"Yes."

Naruto flashed her his familiar grin as she finally yielded before he bent down to kiss her forehead chastely. She smiled at his familiarity and waited until he turned to make his leave before she shifted her attention back to the television and pressed play.

She had barely resumed her show again when she heard Naruto's voice drift to her from the front door. From the couch, she couldn't see down the hall but his words were soft spoken enough to make it clear he wasn't speaking to her and she brushed it off, assuming he had received another phone call.

As the door eventually closed, her attention returned to watching the characters. She rested her cheek against her fist, already feeling the stirrings of boredom settling in, but she picked her head up again as she heard the light pad of footsteps in the hall again. She turned expectantly, assuming Naruto had forgotten something, only to still as she recognized it wasn't her blond friend standing in her living room. It was Itachi.

Incredulity stole her voice as she stared wide-eyed at him. He appeared so calm and at ease like he always did no matter the circumstances as he stood before her in her home. She noticed there was a messenger bag thrown over his shoulder and a flat, white box in his hand but it was his clothing her eyes were drawn to. He was dressed in street clothes consisting of a pair of jeans and a dark, fashion jacket. The look was so different to the scrubs she had become accustom to and yet so fitting that she stared at him a long moment before she eventually found her words. "Itachi? What-what are you doing here?"

Her surprise was obvious in her tone and she was unable to look away as he studied her, completely unfazed. "I apologize for coming over unannounced; I hope I am not intruding. Uzumaki said you were still awake."

"No, it's…" The sudden scent of food hit her nose and she blinked as her gaze briefly dropped to study the box in his hand. "You brought pizza?"

"And wine," he supplied. When she continued to stare at him in open confusion, he continued, "I knew you would not be happy until you saw your patient's chart yourself so I thought I might save you the trouble and deliver you a copy."

Stunned, Sakura shook her head as she pushed the blanket and pillow Naruto had brought for her aside. "You didn't have to do that. I could've—."

"Don't get up," Itachi stopped her as he set the pizza box on the counter and stepped towards her.

Sakura paused her attempt to stand as she watched him rummage through his bag and withdraw a chart. He held it out to her but she hesitated to accept it as guilt and appreciation warred within her. "You didn't have to…"

He merely smirked as he cocked his head at her. "Would you really have been satisfied with an email or phone call?"

Sakura chewed the inside of her lip as she studied his expression. When she found only amusement hidden within his obsidian irises, the tension in her body waned and she accepted the chart as she smiled softly. "No," she admitted.

His smirk widened. "No," he agreed. He straightened once more before he returned to his bag and withdrew a bottle of white wine. "Sit and read that while I serve us. Where is your bottle opener?"

"Second drawer next to the stove."

As Itachi turned away, Sakura couldn't help but watch him over the bar counter that separated the rooms. Warm gratitude flooded her at his generous act of kindness and she had to bite the inside of her lip to keep her grin showing. It wasn't the first time she had witnessed his benevolence, but his willingness to travel to her after a long surgery when it was already after midnight left her feeling like she might burst with appreciation. He really was a kind person.

Shaking herself, Sakura forced her gaze to shift down to the chart to keep from smiling at him like an idiot. She found the page with Itachi's recent notes and sat back to read as the quiet clinking of him maneuvering within her kitchen filled the silence. His report was amazingly detailed as he described the procedure and the patient's stats both during and after the operation. She read every word meticulously as she absorbed the information, feeling both a little anxious that it hadn't been her hands performing the surgery but also relieved Itachi had been able to step in.

"Any complications?" she asked without looking up.

"None."

"No bleeding? No irregular heart rhythms?"

"There was minimal bleeding at best but it resolved itself," he answered as he finally exited the kitchen. Sakura glanced up as he held a wine glass out to her and accepted it before he set a plate with pizza on the small tray table she always kept beside the couch. "And no arrhythmias. I have a resident watching her tonight to ensure she does not form any clots or infections."

"What about her kidney functions?"

Sakura glanced up again just as Itachi shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over the back of a bar stool before he retrieved his own glass and plate and set them on the matching tray table on the opposite side of the couch. Immediately she scooted backwards to allow him room to sit only to still as he grabbed her ankle, effectively preventing her from bending her knee. "Don't," he murmured.

He lowered himself down and angled himself towards her with one leg bent in front of him. Her own leg was stretched out next to his hip and though he wasn't touching her, she could still feel his body heat against the bare skin on the inside of her knee. She suddenly felt exposed in her pajama shorts but she hid her shyness as he leaned forward to flip the chart to the next page. "We will watch her kidney function but for now, it all appears normal. These were her latest labs before I left."

It suddenly struck her that he intended to stay for a little while and she observed him as she recognized his comfortable demeanor. Her perception of him was such a vast difference to the few months ago when she could barely stand to be in the same operating room as him and she wondered how her opinion shifted so tremendously. It was almost comical she ever considered him to be a cold, arrogant bastard when in fact he couldn't be further from it.

She had observed his compassion when he had been forced to deliver the worst possible news to a family member or patient, and his selflessness any time someone needed support, whether asked or not. He was patient and confident and willing to make sacrifices for those under his care and supervision. He was one of the best surgeons and people she had ever worked for, and she felt some regret she hadn't recognized it sooner.

Sakura suddenly realized she had been staring and she quickly looked down at the chart as Itachi continued to explain at length his methods during the procedure. Perhaps it was the smooth glide of his voice or the natural intelligence he displayed that kept her hanging on his every word but she listened with rapt attention as they discussed the surgery she had forced to miss earlier that day.

They ate and drank comfortably. Sakura was halfway through her second glass of wine when she realized Itachi had fallen silent and she glanced at him only to pick her head up out of the chart when she found his gaze was fixated upon her. She hid her sudden self-consciousness by flashing him a look. "What?"

"Why did you become a surgeon?"

Her brow furrowed at his sudden question but she shrugged nonchalantly. "Because I like helping people."

"That is not an answer."

"Would you prefer I said because I like cutting people open?"

Itachi stared at her, his expression amused but also intent and quietly curious, and she sighed softly when she realized he wasn't going to let her hide behind playful, redirecting answers. Her gaze dropped from his as she briefly recalled the night that had changed her life all those years ago. She had been too young to understand it at the time, but in hindsight it had shaped her into the person - into the _surgeon_ -she was now.

"It's not a very good story," she murmured. She could feel his gaze burning into her but she was unable to meet it with her sudden dampened mood and she distracted herself by fiddling with a corner of the chart idly. A wide range of emotion warred within her. It was hard for her to speak of her past. There were very few people who knew it, but she suddenly found herself talking before she could understand _why_ she was.

"It was a Tuesday. I remember because my mom always went grocery shopping then," she said without looking up from the chart. "I was home with my father. We were doing something at the table - I can't even remember what now - when he collapsed. I was too young to know what or how to do CPR."

Next to her, Itachi was silent. It was hard to tell what he was thinking as she still had yet to look up at him but she didn't raise her gaze as she continued to stare unseeing into her lap. She didn't know what it was that had made her speak, what it was that made her inclined to retell the story she hated so much, but she found herself _wanting_ to tell him. She trusted him.

"He died on the floor that night," she continued. "I can still remember the moment his heart stopped under my hand."

"Heart attack?"

She nodded. "I told you it wasn't a very good story," she said as she finally peered up to meet his gaze. His expression was composed but she didn't miss the sympathy reflecting in his dark eyes. "You're pitying me."

"I am not pitying you."

"And now you're lying," she accused, her tone light and playful. Her small, teasing smile broke the dejected mood that had settled over them.

Itachi smirked. "You seem very confident that you know what I am thinking."

Her smile widened before she stretched slightly. A small shock of pain throbbed behind her knee and caused her to wince but it quickly passed and she relaxed again before she shot him a look. "What about you? What's your sob story?"

"What makes you believe I have one?" he asked.

Sakura arched her brow. "You expect me to believe after that after your insistent questioning, you don't have one?"

He rolled his shoulders in a light shrug. "I never said that I did not have a story. Simply that it is not tragic."

Reaching for her wine glass again, she sipped from it as she waited expectantly. He seemed to roll his thoughts around in his head as he considered where to begin. "You are probably unaware that Shisui is a heart transplant recipient."

His words were so soft spoken that it took her a moment to register what he had said but when they finally did, she immediately lowered her glass as her eyes widened remarkably. "What?"

"When I was ten, he was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy," he explained. "The wall of his left ventricle had thickened, preventing normal flow out of his heart. The doctors tried drugs and even took him into surgery for a Septal Myectomy but because his heart had been forced to work harder to keep his blood circulating, he was no longer a suitable candidate for the surgery."

A memory from the day she met Shisui unexpectedly crossed her mind. She had just performed the very same surgery and had been updating the patient's chart when he had approached her. It suddenly occurred to her how he had been so well-versed in the procedure, but she forced her attention to return to Itachi, wanting to hear the rest of the story. "So he was put on the transplant list."

He nodded. "Because of his deteriorating health, he was moved to the top of the list. There were a few times we believed he would not make it," he said slowly, "but a heart did eventually come and they performed the surgery."

"And given that he's still here, I assume it was successful."

"It was."

His tone was quiet and his expression reminiscent as he recalled the memory he had experienced so long ago. She was aware he and his cousin were close - possibly as close as brothers - and she could only imagine how much he had been forced to endure mentally and emotionally at such a young age as he watched his best friend fight for his life knowing he was unable to help. It only made sense that he would become a Cardiac surgeon; to help the other 'Shisuis' of the world.

"He's very lucky to have survived," Sakura murmured after a moment. "That must have been what? Twenty or twenty-five years ago? The survival rate of transplants back then were nowhere near what they are today."

"Perhaps stubborn is more accurate."

She saw mild amusement dance across his expression and she shared his light smile as she drank from her wine glass. "You would think he'd be more humble after experiencing something so life-altering."

"I believe he is attempting to live life to the fullest, or something along those lines," he said good-naturedly.

She laughed at his joke as she returned her glass to her tray table, causing her leg to bump his hip with the movement. As she sat back again, she smiled genuinely. "You know, you really didn't have to come out here, but I do appreciate that you did."

Itachi merely shook his head. "I didn't mind."

"Even still, thank you," she murmured.

She dropped her attention down to the chart and carefully closed the oversized file, ensuring that no pages got bent or pulled on. Itachi shifted in front of her and she looked up expectantly, anticipating him to accept the chart from her, only to still as she realized how close they suddenly sat. With their proximity, there was no mistaking the intensity behind his midnight irises and her body warmed in ways that had nothing to do with the wine. They were trapped in a single moment of time.

Until Itachi leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers.

Sakura's initial surprise faded quickly but she still remained hesitant as he skimmed his hand across the soft skin of her jaw and throat lightly to cup her face. His touch was warm and gentle as his fingers tangled into her hair at the nape of her neck and unconsciously she leaned into him as his mouth moved slowly against hers.

There was nothing hurried nor pressing about his actions as he took his time to familiarize himself with her. She could still taste the crisp note of wine of his lips and she sighed quietly in appreciation as his attentions sent heat throughout her body. It was a light kiss, barely a press of his lips against hers as he treaded into waters they had yet to venture into, but it still made her fingers go lax on the chart as her mind fell pleasantly blank.

It only lasted a few, short moments but she was still dazed when Itachi pulled away. He didn't withdraw his hand from where it rested against her pulse point and she blinked a few times to ground herself as she came to terms with what had just occurred.

"Did you mean to do that?" she eventually murmured.

There was a soft expression on his face and his fingers tightened in her hair lightly at her question. The feeling made another jolt of delight race down her spine but her gaze didn't waver from his as a gentle smile crossed his face. "I never do anything without meaning to."

His declaration did strange, _pleasant_ things to her insides but it also brought along confusion with it. She had been completely unaware of Itachi's attraction to her and even more puzzled as to what had ignited it. It made her head whirl with questions and concerns and…

Her mind drew a blank as he dragged his thumb over her cheekbone slowly. It calmed her racing thoughts and she relaxed into his touch again. He seemed to know the effect he was having on her for a small smirk appeared in the corner of his mouth. "Do you wish me to stop?"

"No," she breathed.

The answer was out before she could weigh her decision but as that single syllable hung in the air, she realized she wasn't particularly interested in taking the time to do so, and she slipped the chart from her lap before she dropped it to the floor. Her hands came to rest on his firm chest as she met his gaze again. "No."

Itachi's only answer was a brazen smirk before he kissed her again.

_**tbc...** _


	8. Chapter 8

_**Where it Happened  
part viii** _

The car jerked to an abrupt halt as Sakura threw the shifter into park before the vehicle came to a complete stop. In one fluid motion, she killed the engine and tossed the door open then slammed it closed behind her before she sprinted towards the emergency room entrance. Her boots splashed against the wet concrete as the rain fell overhead, but it went unnoticed as adrenaline charged her nerves and apprehension twisted her lower stomach into sharp knots. She was physically sick with worry and she thought her heart might burst out of her chest it hammered so hard against her ribs but she didn't slow until she finally entered through the familiar hospital doors.

She made a beeline to the nurses' desk. "Where is he?"

Mitarashi Anko peered up from the paperwork she had been reading and silently observed her. Her keen eyes were piercing but her usual cockiness was absent as she nodded towards the closest trauma room. "In there."

Without pausing to give thanks, Sakura followed her direction and nearly slammed the door open in her haste. Inside, the occupants of the room looked up, startled by her abrupt entrance; however, it was Kakashi her gaze sought.

He was sitting upright in the hospital bed and dressed in a hospital gown. His personal clothes were piled in the corner. The riding jacket he always wore was stained red and torn, but it was the deep gash along his brow that gave her concern. Neji had been in the middle of cleaning it, but his hands stilled upon her entrance.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Sakura snapped.

Kakashi winced. "Not so loud."

Her glower deepened fractionally but she acquiesced as she closed the door softly behind her before she faced him again. She eyed him carefully as she tried to determine the extent of his injuries. He was gingerly supporting one side, but other than a few scraped knuckles and some deep bruises, there didn't appear to be any life-threatening injuries. The tension in her stomach loosened.

"Have you done x-rays?"

Neji nodded towards the computer before he resumed his work. "Fortunately, nothing was broken," he told her as she maneuvered towards the digital scans to view them herself. "I am somewhat concerned about this head laceration so I scheduled a head CT. I'll be taking him up soon."

As Sakura studied the images on the screen, her remaining anxieties faded. A silent breath of relief passed between her lips before she glanced at the brown-haired Neurosurgeon. "Will you do a Thoracic CT too?"

Neji frowned curiously but it was Kakashi that spoke, "Sakura, I don't think—."

"Exactly. You weren't thinking so you don't get to have an opinion," she interrupted sharply. Her dismay had dwindled to be replaced with frustration and a hint of anger. "Your chest hit your handlebars when you flipped over your bike. That's why you're favoring your left side." When he didn't contradict her, she flickered her gaze back to Neji. "Please schedule the chest CT."

It was obvious her suggestion was anything but; however, Neji didn't question her. He quickly wrapped up his work and placed a square of gauze over the wound along Kakashi's temple before he slipped off his gloves and stood. "I will be back soon to get him," Neji told her before he soundlessly exited the trauma room.

Sakura waited for the door to close before she turned back to Kakashi. Her mouth pressed into a thin line and her eyes were as hard as emeralds as she waited for him to explain. When he remained silent, she demanded, "Well? What were you thinking taking your motorcycle out in the rain?"

Kakashi's gaze dropped to absently examine his bloodied knuckles. It was a tense moment before he replied, "It was a bad night."

Immediately her temper cooled. Even with his vague answer, she knew exactly what he meant and her gaze softened as she loosened her crossed arms. Quietly she wandered around his bed to sit in the chair Neji had been occupying before she searched his face. He purposely avoided her gaze and she frowned to herself as she recognized he was keeping her at arm's length emotionally.

"Why didn't you come to see me?" she asked softly. There was no accusation in her tone.

His gaze remained elsewhere but he shook his head. "I didn't want to burden you."

She wanted to tell him that plan hadn't exactly worked out but refrained. He was already guilty and ashamed and angry at himself; there was no reason for her to further push him. She continued to visibly observe him. He didn't look or sound intoxicated but she needed to hear the words from his own mouth. "Were you drinking?"

This time he did look at her as he snapped his head up and cut his gaze to her. "What? Of course not!"

"Okay," she said and gently rested her hand on his arm to soothe his indignation.

As his shoulders relaxed again, her gaze turned to the temporary bandage on his brow as she recognized it was already bleeding through. Without a word, Sakura slipped on a pair of gloves before she examined the wound. It was deep and needed a few stitches but it would have to wait until after his CT. She replaced it with a fresh bandage before she turned her focus to cleaning the dirt and gravel from his knuckles.

The time passed in silence as Sakura worked with only the occasional hiss of pain from Kakashi and her whispered apologies. She was just wrapping up his hands when there was a soft knock on the door before Neji popped his head in. "We're ready for him."

Sakura nodded her acknowledgement before she pulled her gloves off and stood. However, before she stepped away, Kakashi grasped the hem of her jacket effectively stopping her. Immediately she turned back to him. He shot her a silent, questioning look that she understood only too well and she smiled fondly. "I'm not leaving. I'm going to find Plastics to stitch up your facial lac."

"You can do it."

"And have you hold your scar over my head? No, thank you."

It seemed her light teasing finally broke through for his familiar smirk appeared in the corner of his mouth. "I don't mind a scar. It's always a turn on for the ladies."

"What ladies?"

His only answer was a sly grin before he dropped his grasp on her jacket. An amused smile played on her lips but she didn't press him as she stepped back to allow Neji and a nurse to prep him for transport. As soon as they were ready, Neji promised her with a page before they wheeled him out of the room.

The moment he was out of sight, Sakura's smile waned. Her eyes dropped back down to the used gloves in her hand as the tension in the pit of her stomach returned. It wasn't nearly as predominant as before but she couldn't shake the feeling of _what if_ as her gaze lingered on the traces of blood. A sour taste rose in the back of her throat, but she forced herself to swallow it down as she tossed the latex and left the trauma room.

Up on the surgical floor, Sakura stopped at the nurses' station. The senior night nurse was behind the desk hurriedly writing information down as it was received to her through the desk phone. Sakura waited patiently for the dark-haired woman to finish before she called for her, "Oyone, can you page the Plastics Attending for me please?"

"Sure thing, Dr. Haruno."

Sakura flashed her a smile of thanks before she turned around to leaned the small of her back against the desk. She pulled her cell phone out as she waited only to frown at the lateness of the hour. Even without the results of the CT scan yet, she knew Neji would err on the side of caution and keep Kakashi overnight; which meant she was going to have to swing by his apartment to fetch some clothes and at least one of his ridiculous, smutty novels to keep him in the hospital — possibly two.

Her sigh was loud even to her own ears.

"Do I even want to know what has you in such a bad mood?"

Pulling her gaze from her phone, Sakura eyed Ino as the blonde surgeon signed the chart in her hand. She was dressed to impress in a stylish but classy, white shirt that revealed just a hint of her large bust and a pair of black stilettos that only accentuated her long legs.

Sakura didn't have to ask to know who she would be spending her night with and she felt her mood further regressed. "No."

"What're you doing here anyway?" Ino asked as she passed the chart to a nurse. "I thought you were at home."

"I was."

At her flat tone, the blonde studied her with piercing sapphire irises. Sakura tried not to let the extent of her poor mood show — after all, it wasn't Ino's fault that she was to be stuck in the hospital all night to babysit a grown man — but she couldn't help her minute frown. Sakura was only too aware that while she was listening to Kakashi giggle behind his very _graphic_ novel, Ino would be ending her night getting banged into a screaming orgasm. It was hardly fair.

"You got called in," Ino finally concluded. "I see why you're in a bad mood. Who're you waiting on anyway?"

"Plastics," Sakura said. She pushed her phone back into her pocket as she turned around to look for Oyone again.

Next to her, Ino made a noise of sympathy. "Plastics went home hours ago. There was a small apartment fire early this morning."

Sakura hung her head at the news. "Of course."

"Although," Ino added, "isn't Uchiha's cousin a plastic surgeon?"

"Shisui?" A small knit appeared between Sakura's brow as she glanced at her blonde friend. "He is, but he's on the other side of the country."

"No, he's not. I just saw him."

"Here?"

"Yeah, like ten minutes ago," Ino said, pointing her thumb down the hall. "He was headed down to the OR floor. Why don't you ask him for help? It would probably be faster than waiting for Plastics to get back to the hospital." Her blue eyes then fell towards the elevators and she perked up as a wide smile spread across her face. "Oh, gotta go."

Sakura followed her gaze to find Shikamaru had just exited the lift. With an exchange of a good night, Ino strutted towards the Radiologist, leaving Sakura to herself at the nurses' desk. She watched the new couple interact for a moment until she eventually turned away with a glance at her pager. She knew better than to expect an update from Neji so soon but worry still jabbed between her ribs.

Sighing, Sakura shoved her pager back into her pocket before she left in search of Shisui. She took the elevator down to the surgical floor before she drifted to the surgical board. Her eyes scanned the list of surgeon names but it wasn't Shisui's that her gaze lingered on, and she turned away once more as she found what she was looking for.

At this time of night, most interns and residents were too busy with evening rounds or catching up on sleep to occupy the surgical observation decks, which is why it was of no surprise to her to find Itachi's gallery empty - say for one person. Even from behind, their similarities were remarkable and silently she approached the large, glass window until she was standing beside Shisui and looking down into operating room below.

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke as Itachi performed with a practiced hand. It was always a treat to watch him at work. His hands moved so effortlessly it was nearly mesmerizing, even to a seasoned surgeon like Sakura. His skill not only lived up to his reputation but surpassed it. He was the kind of surgeon that everyone strived to become but almost all fell short, and just to be in the same OR was an honor.

Normally Sakura would jump at the opportunity to assist him in surgery, but tonight her mind was elsewhere and she glanced down at her silent pager again.

"Did you know Itachi is considered the best Cardiovascular surgeon in the country?" Shisui suddenly said. His voice was wistful and absent of his usual teasing, and she looked up at him but his gaze remained on his younger cousin. "He gets a new job offer almost every week. But he never accepted any of them until he came here."

Her brow furrowed fractionally as she wondered what had put Shisui into such a mood, but she didn't ask as she traced his profile. "You two are really that close, aren't you?"

He nodded as he finally peeled his gaze away to glance at her. "He's my family. I've known him since he was two. And though I understand why he came here…."

"You miss him," she finished.

Shisui nodded before his eyes dropped back down to the OR. She followed his gaze and watched as Itachi began prepping his patient for bypass. It was a moment before she spoke again, "He doesn't talk about it, but he misses you too."

He snorted softly. "Sometimes I wonder. How could he just leave me behind?"

"Well you would know better than me. But I do know that he checks his phone more often in the morning because of your time difference. And I know that after a rough case, he goes off to call you, even if he knows you might not answer." She turned her head again to meet his gaze. "I haven't known Itachi very long, but even I can see he misses having you around."

Shisui shifted to face her more fully as he studied her, his dark eyes reflecting his curiosity. "Itachi isn't an easy person to read. How do you know it's me he's calling?"

"You said it yourself," she said. "You've known Itachi since he was two. He's the kind of person that speaks louder with his actions than words. Who else would he be calling?"

Shisui considered her comment silently as she wondered how she herself had become so intune with Itachi's habits. She supposed she understood him because in a way he reminded her of Kakashi; never ones to reveal their true emotions verbally, forcing her to look underneath the underneath.

Automatically Sakura reached for her pager again and she bit back her sigh when she found it absent of new messages. She wanted to strangle Kakashi for making her restless with worry but she would have to wait until he was out of CT before she kicked his ass. What an idiot.

Sakura buried her hands in the pockets of her hoodie to keep herself from playing with her pager as her gaze returned to the surgery. Her eyes flickered to the screen next to the gallery windows to get an up-close look at the operation just as Itachi skillfully cut into the now-still heart to gain access to the tumor hindering the normal blood flow into the right atrium.

"So, is that why you flew in?" Sakura asked. "To visit?"

"Not quite," he sighed. "I'm here to convince Itachi to come home. With his contract ending this week, I figured I might try and sway him before he decides to extend it."

She turned to Shisui sharply. "What?"

He slowly turned his gaze away from the OR before his eyes widened. "Oh crap, he didn't tell you?"

She shook her head, perplexed.

"Shit," he cursed softly. "Don't tell him I told you. I figured he would have said something."

Sakura didn't reply as she regarded the operating room again, this time her attention only on Itachi. The lower half of his face was covered by his surgical mask, but his concentration was nearly palpable as he focused solely on the task at hand.

She was still mulling over the night he had visited her when he had kissed her and made her aware of his attraction. His masculinity had been intoxicating and while Sakura had entertained Ino with the idea of pulling Itachi flush against her and kissing him, it had never been a real desire until it was reality. He was unfairly handsome and to most, intimidatingly intelligent, and she knew given the chance she could very easily be swayed into falling for his warm personality.

Her chest tightened. She didn't know if she was more angry or hurt that he hadn't told her his contract was ending. It left her feeling conflicted and she raked a hand through her hair before she reached into her pocket again.

"Is everything alright?" Shisui suddenly asked. "That's the third time in two minutes you've looked at your pager."

Sakura blinked at him in surprise before she dropped her gaze to her hand to find that she had in fact grabbed for her pager again. Quietly she turned the device over in her hands. "I came down here looking for you," she admitted, causing Shisui to cock his head curiously. She swallowed thickly as her next words made emotion clog her throat. "Hatake Kakashi, our Head of Trauma, crashed his motorcycle and was rushed to the ER tonight."

"Is he alright?" he asked, turning to give her his full attention.

"He's in CT. We'll know more once he's out."

Shisui rested a hand on her arm just below her shoulder. "Are _you_ alright?"

His question made her stomach flip-flop and she forced herself to take a deep breath before she met his gaze and nodded. "I'm fine." She didn't sound very convincing even to her own ears. "He sustained a pretty deep head lac and I was wondering if you could suture it for him?"

"Yeah, of course. Why don't we go check on him."

Sakura smiled her appreciation. Shisui replied with a light, comforting squeeze to her arm before they turned to leave, his hand sliding to her mid back as he steered her towards the door. And as quietly as they had entered, the pair left the OR gallery unaware of the dark eyes that followed them.

xx

Sakura couldn't sleep.

A muted sigh of annoyance passed through her nose as she further curled around herself and attempted to get comfortable in the oversized chair. Between the stress of that evening and the uncomfortable seats the hospital provided for visitors, she had trouble drifting off before her mind or body roused her from her rest.

Her new position lasted for all of thirty seconds before her lower back twinged in pain again and she finally gave up. Uncurling her legs, Sakura righted herself and stretched the ache out before she sat back against the chair and gazed at Kakashi's sleeping form. He was lounging in the hospital bed, his smutty, orange book open face-down on his chest from where he had fallen asleep reading it. His hospital gown was gone and replaced with a loose, grey shirt she had fetched from his apartment.

After Neji had informed her that Kakashi had sustained a mild concussion and Shisui had stitched the deep cut on his brow together, Sakura had left the hospital to get a few of Kakashi's personal belongings. The trauma surgeon had argued heatedly to be released that night but one look from Sakura had silenced him. He had been lucky. So lucky. But both she and Neji wanted to keep him in the hospital for one night for observation.

For some time, Sakura merely watched the rise and fall of his chest, taking comfort in the soft, steady beeps of his heart monitor. It was a reminder that he was alive and well, and that her earlier anxiety had been nothing more than a fear of the worst case scenario; she hadn't lost someone she considered family that night. The relief was strong enough to make emotion swell in her eyes and cause her chest to constrict, and she reminded herself to breathe as she leaned her head back against the high back of the chair.

Sakura was just nodding off again when a soft knock echoed against the door. She rolled her head towards the sound, expecting a nurse, only to straighten in surprise as she recognized the newcomer. Itachi was still dressed in his scrubs and surgical cap, his dark hair tucked under it and out of his face. His black eyes studied Kakashi for a long moment before he looked at her. "I heard what happened. How is he?" he asked quietly.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Sakura glanced at the hospital bed to see the sleeping male hadn't moved. "He has a mild concussion and some bruising to his abdomen but he'll be okay."

He eyed the bandages around his knuckles. "And his hands?"

"Just some scrapes," she said. "He should be back in the OR in a week or two."

Itachi nodded, causing Sakura to smile faintly. She understood his line of questioning. To a surgeon, their hands were everything. Without them, they were unable to cut, unable to perform, unable to _help_. It was something no surgeon ever wanted to face.

"Shisui stitched his facial lac?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah, he did. He's as good as his reputation says."

He nodded but didn't reply, and she eyed the tall male curiously. It was then that she noticed there was a considerable slouch to his shoulders and his eyes were shadowed with weariness. Fatigue tightened his expression and dulled his obsidian eyes, causing a small knit to form between her brows. His procedure should have ended hours ago.

"Did you just get out of surgery?"

A soft sigh passed between his lips so silently she nearly missed it. "There were some complications."

"Your patient didn't survive."

It was more of a statement than a question and after a moment, Itachi shook his head minutely. "No, he did not."

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

Her heart weighed a little heavier in her chest as she watched Itachi quietly but his expression was unreadable as he absently studied Kakashi's heart monitor. It was a long moment before he turned away to gaze down at her. "I received a call from UNOS. They have a pair of lungs for my Cystic Fibrosis patient. They expect them to arrive at approximately eight."

The change in subject wasn't lost on her but she waited silently as his eyes briefly flickered to Kakashi. "I sympathize with the night you have had, but I would appreciate it if you assisted me."

Unconsciously Sakura perked up. A double lung transplant surgery was both tedious and exhilarating, and in her medical career she had only witnessed one - during her intern year. To be asked to scrub in on the surgery and assist Itachi made excitement chase her drowsiness away.

"Yes, of course," she agreed readily.

Itachi smiled faintly. "Thank you, Sakura."

The use of her given name stirred something within her, but before she could identify the feeling, Itachi backed away. "I will see you in the morning then."

She watched him make for the door as the emotion waned before sputtering out. Her earlier conversation with Shisui replayed in her mind and before she could stop herself, she called out to him, "Itachi."

Immediately he stopped and turned back to her expectantly. She opened her mouth to ask the question she was dying to know but it never found a voice as he looked at her, his expression hollow. Itachi was nearly dead on his feet. His surgery had zapped the last of his energy, and she knew he would be out the moment his head hit the pillow.

Sakura closed her mouth again, knowing it wasn't the right time to press and if she was being completely honest with herself, it wasn't any of her business. A moment passed before she smiled lightly. "Good night."

Itachi seemed to sense there was something on the tip of her tongue but he merely inclined his head before he slipped out of the room as quietly as he had come.

Sakura continued to watch the door even after he left. A frown pulled on the corners of her mouth and she sighed softly before she leaned back and rested her head against the chair.

"What's that look for?"

Pulling her gaze from the door, she turned to see Kakashi hadn't moved an inch but his eyes were now open as he stared at her. Her frown deepened. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough," he shrugged. He picked up his book and closed it before he pushed himself up gingerly. Once he was comfortable, he cocked his brow expectantly.

Sakura chewed the inside of her cheek before finally relenting. "I think he's leaving."

"Leaving?"

"His contract ends this week," she explained quietly. "And I think he's going home."

"And that upsets you?"

"No," she shook her head. "Of course not."

Kakashi shot her a look. "You're a bad liar — even when you're trying." He paused before asking, "Are you sleeping with him?"

Her expression turned incredulous. "What? No! He's my boss."

"Hasn't stopped you before," he muttered.

Hurt rippled through Sakura and she looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Immediately Kakashi apologized. "Sorry, that was mean. Hospitals always make me cranky."

"Then why work in one?"

"The hot nurses. And the hotter Cardiovascular surgeons."

Sakura smiled despite herself. His words still stung but Kakashi always knew what to say and she arched her brow teasingly. "I didn't think Itachi was your type."

The look he shot her made her smile widen into a grin but it quickly faded as his expression turned solemn once more. "So what is it?"

She sighed through her nose as she dropped her gaze to pick at her nails absently. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Shaking her head, she didn't immediately offer an answer. She hadn't spoken to anyone about her shift in relationship with Itachi. While they were still coworkers, outside of the hospital things had changed but she didn't know how. It was all very confusing and she didn't know how to explain it when she didn't even know what they were or what they were doing to begin with.

"He's kind and considerate and an incredible surgeon," Sakura finally said, not knowing what else to say. But Kakashi had always been a master at reading between the lines.

"So are you."

She scoffed lightly as she stopped her fidgeting to look up at him. He met her gaze calmly. "If you want him to stay, convince him."

"Convince him?" Sakura repeated as she crossed her arms. "That's your master plan?"

How was she to compete with Shisui? He was Itachi's best friend from _childhood_ while she was nothing more than another attending he had kissed once.

"Convince him, ask him - I don't care, Sakura. If that's what you want, do it; speak up. I'm tired of seeing you go out of your way for everyone else. Do something for yourself for once."

They sat in silence as Kakashi stared at her and Sakura weighed his words. They both knew what, or rather _who_ , he was referring to but his advice was easier said than done. She wouldn't admit it - although she was fairly certain Kakashi already knew - but she was scared to put herself out there. She had done it before and she had been burned to the third degree. Kakashi had seen her hit rock bottom and had watched her glue herself back together. She knew he wasn't trying to be mean; he just didn't want her fear to control her.

Eventually she loosened her folded arms as she peered at him. "I liked you better when you were pretending to be asleep."

"And I liked you better when you were an intern."

"No, you didn't."

He held her gaze before he finally nodded good-naturedly. "Yeah, you're right. You were a pain back then."

Her playful smile widened into a full blown grin until a long yawn escaped her. "We should both get some sleep."

Kakashi shifted to one side of his bed before he gestured to her to come over to him. When she just eyed him questioningly, he sighed, "You have a double lung transplant in the morning. Do you really think you'll get any sleep in that miserable excuse for a chair?"

She said nothing but they both knew he was right and after a minute, she stood and slipped onto the mattress next to him. With his larger frame, it was a tight squeeze but after some careful maneuvering, she found a comfortable position on her side with her back pressing into his torso. They didn't speak and with the heart monitor softly beeping in the background, Sakura was quickly lulled to sleep.

xx

Itachi stood silently as he observed the screen monitoring his patient's vitals. His gaze was unwavering as he watched the digital display track the young woman's heartbeat in sync with the contraction of the muscle. They had been surveilling her pulmonary and cardiac function since she had been taken off bypass but as they closed, it was becoming apparent that there were no immediate complications.

A silent sigh of relief pressed out his nose before he finally glanced away from the monitor. "Great work, everyone. We're done here."

On the other side of the table, Sakura met his gaze. Her jade eyes were dulled with exhaustion but they brightened with the success of the surgery and she smiled beneath her mask. Itachi returned it before she stepped away from the table and wasted no time in heading into the scrub room to wash off.

Itachi followed her at a slower pace as he discarded his own bloodied gown and gloves. His body from his neck down to the bottoms of his feet ached from standing for so long, but he couldn't find it within himself to complain. Barring any complications, this young woman's life would be extended hopefully for another five years. It wasn't much, but considering the little amount of time she would have had with her failing lung functions, it was something.

Sakura was already standing at the sink when Itachi entered, but she didn't look up at him. Even from her profile, he could see she was just as tired as he felt and for a long minute, neither of them said anything as the spray from the sink filled the silence.

"She will need her lungs biopsied tomorrow," Itachi eventually murmured, "and her vitals checked frequently to ensure she doesn't reject the organs."

"She's your patient," Sakura said not unkindly. "I'm sure you're more than capable of handling her recovery."

He glanced at her briefly before he reached for the soap. "I will be out of town. I need you to follow up on her post-ops."

"Out of town?" she repeated. She shut off the flow of water and reached for a towel before she turned to face him fully. "And who is going to run your department in your absence?"

"You are."

"Me?" she repeated incredulously.

"You have the both the talent and the ambition to do so. Is there any reason why you believe you shouldn't?" he asked as he looked at her again.

Her expression betrayed her confusion but she shook her head as she dried her hands slowly. "No."

"Good," he smiled softly before he returned his attention back to his hands as he washed the suds from them. "I think you will do well."

Sakura nodded but she didn't reply as Itachi shut off his faucett, casting the scrub room into sudden silence. He reached for a towel and dried his hands as he absently observed the nurses through the glass, his mind slipping to his conversation with Shisui the night before.

In the early hours of the morning, his cousin had convinced him to return home last minute and though the thought of going back left an uncomfortable knot in the pit of his stomach, he knew he couldn't avoid it any longer. He needed to confront his father and face the issues he had been putting off. It was not something he was looking forward to but it was time he moved on. He couldn't hide any longer.

"I know it's none of my business," Sakura murmured quietly, "but I do hope you decide to extend your contract."

Itachi stilled before he slowly turned to her. It was then that he realized she had been silently studying him and he met her gaze as conflict warred behind her emerald eyes. She seemed to want to say more and he suddenly understood what she had been itching to ask the night before, but she eventually decided against it before she dropped her towel into the used bin. She flashed him a weak smile that didn't quite reach her eyes before she quietly backed out of the room.

Itachi took a single step after her before he stopped. He briefly wondered how Sakura knew about his contract until he remembered seeing her with Shisui in the OR gallery last night. The realization caused a heavy sigh to pass between his lips and he dropped his own towel into the sink before he rested his hands on the edge of the basin, a frown cast upon his features.

He hadn't meant to keep his personal affairs from her, but between his cousin dropping in on him unexpectedly and having to abruptly reschedule all of his surgeries and close his remaining cases, she had gotten lost in the fray.

His chest tightened unpleasantly and he gripped the edge of the sink until his knuckles turned white.

Itachi didn't know what he was going to do. He had enjoyed his time here. The hospital and the other attendings were all forces to be reckoned with. It was rare to find a hospital with so many competent and highly intelligent surgeons.

The thought of returning home filled him with both a sense of relief and reluctance. He had never intended to stay here; only to take a moment to catch his breath. He hadn't expected to meet Sakura and he definitely hadn't expected her to make him realize there was something missing in his life; that there was more than just the everyday routine of wake up, do rounds, perform surgery, check post-ops and go home. Here, he didn't feel the pressures to live up to his family name. Here, he had found purpose in his work again, like seeing the sun again after so long under a cloudy sky.

He had a difficult decision before him and a choice needed to be made.

_**tbc…** _


	9. Chapter 9

_**Where it Happened  
part ix** _

"What are you still doing here?"

Without picking his head up from the wall, Itachi opened his eyes. He angled his head towards Shisui as his older cousin stopped in front of the chair he had claimed only five minutes earlier. "I still have another six hours on my shift."

Shisui shot him a look that clearly stated that hadn't been what he was implying. "I meant what are you still doing here? In this hospital, in this city."

A long sigh escaped Itachi. He had just performed a valve replacement before being pulled into emergency surgery the moment he scrubbed out. And his shift wasn't even halfway over. He was the epitome of exhausted. This was the first break he'd gotten since walking through the doors that morning and he didn't want to spend it debating with Shisui. Again.

"Not now, Shisui…"

"Then when?" Shisui slipped into the empty chair across from him and leaned back, his attention focused solely on his younger cousin. "You've been back for two months and you're already miserable."

"I am not miserable."

"And apparently you're a liar now too."

Itachi scowled. "Who do you think it was that convinced me to come home?"

Shisui didn't immediately answer. Guilt flickered across his face, causing Itachi to immediately regret his words but he didn't take them back. "Alright, maybe I did convince you to come home for selfish reasons, but I...I thought you were just being stubborn. I thought if you had talked to your father and sorted things out, we could go back to the way things were, but…"

A pair of nurses hurried past the row of chairs behind where Shisui was sitting, and Itachi watched them disappear around the corner before he sighed softly. "Things will never be the same here."

There was a finality in his statement. As if he was finally voicing a truth they had all been trying to avoid for so long now. It had been kept deep in the back of his mind but Itachi had known all along that this place he had once considered home would never be a safe haven again. Too many things had happened. Too many things had changed. And he needed to change with it.

"You should go," Shisui urged.

Itachi eyed his cousin for a long moment, wondering when he had become so mature. It wasn't a side he often showed but he smiled nonetheless. Even if it was filled with nostalgia and quickly fading.

"My mother…"

"Mikoto will understand."

"My patients-."

"I've already reassigned your cases," Shisui smirked.

Itachi arched his brow curiously. "How long have you been planning this?"

"A few days."

Against his better judgment, Itachi chuckled quietly. He couldn't find it within himself to feel annoyed or manipulated. Because the truth was he had been itching to return to the hospital that had begun to feel more like home than his actual home.

He tried to convince himself that it wasn't one pink-haired cardiac surgeon that made him miss the life he had started to build across the country but he would only be lying to himself. He missed Sakura. He missed their banter and her no-nonsense personality. She was easy to talk to and he could rely on her when he needed another….well, _him_.

Itachi had tried to convince himself that his affections for her were nothing more than a crush. She was just someone he had redirected his attentions, a distraction, but as the days passed into weeks and weeks into months, he was beginning to understand she was more than that. He cared for her. And he missed her. He wanted to go back. He had to go back.

"What about you?" Itachi asked as he fixed his gaze on Shisui again.

His cousin shrugged with one shoulder. "I'll be fine. Besides, it won't be the last you'll see of me."

The last of Itachi's anxieties faded upon Shisui's smile and for the first time since he had returned home, he had something to look forward to. "I'll need to book a flight."

If possible, Shisui's smirk turned even more smug. "I already have. You leave tomorrow night."

xx

Over two months had passed but it was as if things had ever changed. The condo Itachi had rented during his extended stay was still waiting for him as was the car he had left parked in his parking stall. His mother had asked him multiple times if he had plans to give notice to the landlady, but a part of him had been unable to give up the small living space he had made his own. Like he knew one day he would return.

Itachi didn't linger long in it now, only stopping to gaze out the window at the view that had become so familiar for only a moment before he showered and changed into a fresh suit. He had a scheduled meeting with the Chief in a few hours and if he knew Tsunade as well as he believed he did, she would have quite the earful for him for leaving so abruptly.

He passed the coffeehouse he used to frequent on his way to the hospital and quickly stopped in. The same barista was behind the bar and she smiled in recognition before she made his usual. He waited patiently as he reread the email from the Chief's secretary, confirming his appointment with Tsunade later that morning.

A moment later his attention was ripped away as the sudden screech of tires clashed with the blaring of picked his head up just in time to see the immediate aftermath of a delivery truck striking a city bus broadside. People both inside and outside the coffeeshop paused in front of the windows, blocking the majority of the damage, but the screams and shouts for help could be heard throughout the intersection.

Without pausing, Itachi sprinted out the front doors. A few civilians were already hurrying towards the bus to help and so his focus shifted to the delivery truck. The entire front end was crushed, crumbling the door and making it impossible for anyone to get in or out, but the window still was mostly intact and he pulled himself up to it.

"Someone, please help me!" the driver called.

"I'm here," Itachi said, drawing the man's gaze. Fear danced behind his eyes and flickered across his face but it lessened upon sight of him. "My name is Itachi. I'm a doctor. What's your name?"

"Chi-Chiyo."

"Alright Chiyo, what hurts the worst?"

"My leg," he answered. Both his legs were stuck under the dashboard, making it impossible to assess the damage. "I think...I think it's broken," Chiyo added.

"Without moving your neck or back, can you tell me if the bone has broken the skin?"

It was a moment before he answered. "N-no. I don't think so."

"That's good," Itachi told him calmly. "What about your chest? Does it hurt to breathe?"

Chiyo shook his head, causing Itachi to immediately still his movements. The frightened man tried again, "No. I think-I think I'm okay. Can you help me out of here?"

"Chiyo, I need you to stay here and try not to move," Itachi said calmly. He could hear the sobs and cries of the injured through the rest of the wreckage and he was itching to see how bad it was. "The fire department is going to have to cut you out. I need to go check on everyone else, but I need you to stay still."

"No, wait! Please don't go," he begged.

Itachi bit back his impatience. "You are going to be fine, Chiyo. But I have to go check on everyone else."

The plea was only too apparent on the man's face, but Itachi said nothing before he jumped back down off the truck and hurried towards the bus. It was far worse than he thought. There were two casualties he noticed immediately, but he quickly turned away to help those still alive and in serious condition.

By the time the first responders began to survive, he had already stemmed the blood flow on three survivors and was in the process of stabilizing another when they suddenly lost a pulse. He began chest compressions and didn't stop even as the paramedics loaded them into the ambulance until he felt the familiar throb of a heartbeat under his fingertips.

The minutes ticked by as the rig raced down the main road. The lack of trauma equipment was making him restless, but after asking for an ETA for the fourth time, the familiar emergency entrance for the hospital came into view and Itachi breathed a small sigh of relief as the first responders unloaded the patient to the awaiting doctors.

"Uchiha? What the hell are you doing here?"

Tsunade was eyeing him half surprised, half annoyed as he stepped out of the back of the ambulance behind the stretcher. She waited for him as the rest of the staff rushed the patient inside before they hurried into the ER after them. "I am here to discuss the possibilities of signing an extended contract."

The Chief shot him a pointed look. "And you thought you would come in style?"

"I have a meeting with you in an hour," Itachi said as he pulled off his suit jacket and hung in on an empty hook reserved for trauma gowns. "But I believe it is safe to say that we will have to reschedule. I need to get this patient into surgery. Do I have privileges?"

Tsunade pursed her lips but her decision was made when a flatline was suddenly called. "Get in there."

With barely a nod, Itachi swept into the trauma room.

xx

Sakura was upset. Beyond upset actually and more into the realm of downright pissed off. Her emerald eyes were narrowed as she scanned the surgical board, eyeing the long list of ongoing surgeries. A nurse was in the process of updating the board and she watched her pen move with active interest as she cataloged the current traumas.

"Does that say that there's a Cardiac Tamponade in OR 3?" Sakura asked suddenly.

The nurse paused in her writing to glance over her shoulder at her. "Uh...yes."

"And how exactly do they plan to repair that with the only Cardiovascular attending standing here?" When the younger woman just stared wide-eyed, Sakura's glare deepened. "Why the hell wasn't I paged?"

The nurse just blinked at her bewildered, a bit taken aback to be on the receiving end of Sakura's harsh words. Sakura knew it wasn't her fault, but it had been a crazy day for the hospital.

Ten trauma surgeries, back-to-back. Ten victims had come in from a bus crash downtown and every single one that had been rushed through their emergency room doors had been brought down to an operating room. Sakura had been in and out of surgeries for near that of eight hours, and she didn't understand why she hadn't been paged for a surgery that obviously needed her skill and experience.

Admittedly Sakura was tired and cranky. She had put in a lot of extra hours in recent weeks and she was pretty sure her blood had turned into coffee and caffeine, but she didn't offer the nurse an apology as she spun on her heels and hurriedly caught the elevator to the surgical floor.

A surgical team was already inside the OR and silently Sakura watched them work through the windows of the washroom as she pulled on her mask before scrubbing. Irritation still simmered in her chest but she made sure to scrub thoroughly before she finally slipped into the room.

"Who the hell decided it would be a good idea not to page me?" Sakura asked loudly. She accepted a sterile cloth from a nurse and dried her hands as she gazed pointedly about the room.

"That would be me."

Sakura stilled. She knew that voice.

Automatically her eyes drew to the person standing in the Lead Surgeon's spot. Even under the scrub cap and mask, she recognized him immediately. Everything about him was familiar: his tall, lean form, his stance, his stunning, black eyes. Even his technique as he cut and sutured was unmistakable.

"Itachi."

He glanced at her briefly at the call of his name before he returned his attention to the task at hand. Emotion struck her suddenly and sharply in that simple look, twisting and knotting in her chest until she didn't know how she felt.

He wasn't supposed to be here. He had gone and left her behind, and now he was standing here as if he had been there the whole time. Betrayal took root under her breastbone and she fixed Itachi with a dark glare. "What the hell are you doing here, Uchiha?"

"I am working on resolving a fairly complicated Cardiac Tamponade," he replied without looking at her.

"You don't work here."

Itachi paused to glance at her, his eyes unreadable. "I do as of seven hours ago."

She blinked. "Under whose authority?"

"Chief Tsunade."

He returned to the patient with his answer, leaving Sakura speechless. She hadn't seen him all morning; they must have just been missing each other. And she hadn't spoken to Tsunade since the night before as they were both pulled in and out of surgery.

Sakura felt blindsided. She wanted to yell and shout and hurt him all the ways he had hurt her, but she refrained. There was still a patient on the table in serious condition, and the only person she trusted to help them more than her was Itachi himself. He may be an ass, but he was an incredibly intelligent, incredibly talented ass.

The surgical staff was beginning to stare. There was nothing more she could say without causing a scene, and so without a word, she dropped her towel onto the floor before she marched out of the room. She ripped her mask off and tossed it in the garbage in the scrub room before she headed back out into the halls, in search of one person in particular.

She found Tsunade before the surgical board.

"When the hell were you going to tell me that you hired Uchiha Itachi back?"

Tsunade pulled her hazel eyes away from the large whiteboard slowly to peer at her. "Is that a problem? We still haven't found a replacement for his position."

"You should have run it by me first," Sakura said, her voice unforgiving and laced with an edge of steel.

The older woman arched her brow but didn't remark on her tone. "You and I both know you can't run a department, never mind by yourself, when you have other obligations to the hospital. You've turned down every other applicant. I felt since you had no problems working with him before, you wouldn't have any objections to hiring him back."

"It still needs to be approved by the board."

"It was forty-five minutes ago," Tsunade told her. "As soon as Uchiha is out of surgery, I'm presenting him with a contract."

Sakura blinked incredulously. "Why wasn't I informed?"

"You were in surgery," the Chief countered. "And the board only requires five votes." When Sakura continued to frown, Tsunade turned to face her fully as curiosity burned in her hazel eyes. "Did something happen between you two that I'm not aware of?"

Sakura didn't immediately offer an answer.

Itachi had kissed her. And then he left. She had asked him to stay and he had walked away like it hadn't meant anything. Like she hadn't meant anything. She could admit that it wasn't as bad as proclaiming his love or sleeping with her and leaving her alone to deal with their unborn child. Perhaps she was overreacting, but she couldn't deny the hurt that thrummed in her chest.

"No," Sakura eventually said. "Nothing happened."

xx

The sky was dark outside the hospital windows, the moon hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. Itachi watched them drift past as he pulled on his suit jacket, only turning away as a resident tentatively called his name. Hyuuga Hanabi was standing in the doorway of the Attendings' lounge with a chart in hand and he silently stepped away the window to accept the offered binder.

His patient was stable. And their labs were clear, meaning he could go home tonight without concern. "Are you working tonight, Hyuuga?"

"I stayed last night," she told him. When Itachi glanced at her, she flushed and immediately amended her statement. "But I can stay again."

He nodded as he flipped the chart closed again and passed it to her. "Good. I want her labs checked again in a few hours. Page me if there are any changes for the worst."

The young surgeon-in-training nodded before she took the chart back. However, she didn't immediately turn to leave and Itachi turned back to her as she toyed with her next words. "Can I ask, are you just visiting or are you back?"

For a moment, Itachi merely regarded her. When he found only curiosity in her gaze, he murmured, "I plan to stay for some time."

A genuine smile passed her face. "Welcome back then."

Her energy was infectious and Itachi found the corners of his mouth turning up but he didn't say anything more before Hanabi finally exited the lounge. It was only once he was alone again that he realized something. No one else had welcomed him back. Not even over the course of his ten hour shift.

A strange emptiness settled behind his ribcage as his smile vanished as quickly as it had come. The lounge suddenly felt so empty without any other surgeons present, and silently he slipped his old employee card into his pocket before he left the hospital.

Out in the parking lot, Itachi scanned the rows of cars, searching for where the intern who had picked up his vehicle had parked it. He had barely scanned the first stalls when a familiar face caught his notice.

Sakura was following the walkway down to the employee parking lot, the strap of her purse in the crook of her elbow and an overnight bag thrown over her shoulder. She hadn't seen him and Itachi quickly followed her, wanting to catch her before she drove off.

"Sakura," he called.

She picked her head up from where she had been digging through her bag for her car keys. When her eyes landed on him, she frowned. "My shift already ended, Uchiha," she said as she resumed her search.

The use of his surname was not lost on him nor was the irritation sharpening her tone. It was the same one she had used in the OR earlier that afternoon, and it seemed that time hadn't cooled her mood.

"Can we talk please?" Itachi asked quietly as they stopped beside a dark midsized SUV.

"You can talk to me tomorrow when I get in." She didn't spare him a glance as she finally located her keys and popped open her trunk. In one smooth movement, she slipped her bag over her shoulder and tossed it in before she reached up to pull the trunk closed again.

It was quickly becoming apparent that she was content to end their conversation there as she turned towards the driver's door, but Itachi quickly moved around her, his hand coming to rest on the door handle before she could reach it.

Sakura glared at him, silently conveying that he would do well to move before she made him move. He knew she would too, and he shot her a pleading look. "Sakura…"

Her expression didn't soften but the immediate threat faded. "What?"

She shot that single syllable at him like a bullet, leaving a sharp, stinging pain in its wake, but he didn't flinch away. He understood her frustrations. She was disappointed and angry and he suspected hurt, even if she hid it well behind frosty, emerald eyes.

"I know that my leaving upset you. I am truly sorry."

"Are you sorry you upset me or sorry for not telling me you were leaving?" Sakura asked pointedly.

"Both," he admitted. "When I first came here, I never intended to stay. It was only supposed to be temporary."

"Then why did you come back?" Sakura snapped.

Itachi didn't immediately answer. He had a few reasons for coming back, some more significant than others and some he wasn't quite ready to admit aloud. Especially not with Sakura still looking like she was one misplaced word away from physically removing him from her path.

"Because of you," Itachi finally said. When she scoffed, he quickly continued, "And Kakashi and Neji and even Ino. You all have breathed life into a place that is normally filled with pain and suffering. You all remind me what it was that made me choose to become a surgeon in the first place. That is why I came back."

Sakura looked away as her anger lost much of its vibrancy. He waited with bated breath for her to speak, but when the seconds continued to tick by silently, he pressed quietly. "You asked me to stay.".

She shook her head slowly. "But I didn't ask you to come back."

Her words were soft spoken but the betrayal rang clear in her tone. Her hurt resonated like it was his own and Itachi found himself unable to meet her gaze as a sinking feeling suddenly settled in his chest. "I needed time to get my life back together."

Again, Sakura didn't answer. That was when the first raindrop fell on Itachi's hand before another peppered his skin next to the first. When he met her eyes again, Sakura's face was unreadable. Not blank, but full of so many emotions it was hard to decipher one from another.

"Can we talk over dinner?" he asked. "Or coffee?"

Sakura didn't move. For a long moment she simply stared at him as the rain began to quicken, striking the ground in slowly growing droplets. And just when he thought they would stand there forever, she murmured quietly, "You never called. Or texted. I never even got so much as an email. So you can't have that much to say. And I know that I don't either. I'm going home. I'm tired."

Her rejection struck Itachi like a physical blow but he said nothing before he opened her door for her. He waited until she slipped behind the wheel before he closed it behind her and stepped away, silently watching as she backed out of the parking stall and drove away.

It seemed after all they had been through together with the cases and the late nights, and the shared losses over ice cream and pizza and all manner of junk food, they were back to where they had started: Itachi, the new attending, and Sakura wanting nothing to do with him.

_**to be continued...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please ignore medical inaccuracies. As you may have guessed, I am not trained in the medical field 😬


	10. Chapter 10

_**Where it Happened** _   
_**part x** _

"He's staring at you again."

Sakura flipped the page in her chart as she spooned another helping of oatmeal into her mouth. She chewed slowly before answering, "Why do you think I'm pretending to read this chart for the third time?"

Across from her, Naruto cocked his brow. "You ever going to tell me what happened between you two?"

"Nothing happened."

The words tumbled out of her mouth out of habit, their sound so familiar on her tongue. The blond sighed. He had been getting the same answer for a week now, as had everyone else who asked, but he didn't press. Not directly anyway. "Is it the same kind of nothing as when we were in med school and you got drunk and tried to have sex with me on the kitchen counter?"

Sakura choked. She lowered her cup from her lips and coughed loudly as she tried to clear the water out of her airway before she stared wide-eyed at Naruto. "I thought we agreed we weren't ever going to talk about that again?"

He grinned over his coffee cup. "I know. But it got that brooding look off your face, so it was worth it."

The glare she shot him over the chart was softened by the smile tugging on the corner of her mouth, and she shook her head before closing her file. "What happened between Uchiha and I...it isn't something I want to talk about."

"Did he hurt you?"

Sakura blinked. "What? No."

"Do you want me to beat him up?"

His seriousness made her laugh, and for one moment she entertained the thought of Naruto raising fists against the Cardio Surgeon. Itachi was tall, at least a head over Naruto, but her blond friend had always been incredibly quick and scrappy. She didn't see Itachi as the physically type, but he was fit. He could probably hold his own in a fight.

Inwardly shaking herself, Sakura banished the scenario from her mind. "Please don't. We just got a new Cardio Head. I don't need to start the screening process for another one. Besides, the Chief would kill me, and likely you, if he ran off again."

Naruto pouted as if he had actually been looking forward to making a scene. What a drama queen. "Well, let me know if you change your mind."

Sakura grinned before she changed the subject. "We still on for drinks tonight?"

His gaze was fixed across the cafeteria as he eyed something with vague interest but he nodded. "Usual place?"

"You even have to ask?"

Naruto smirked, already knowing she was fantasizing about the pan-seared chicken breasts she ordered every time. There was something about that balsamic glaze that always made her crave more.

"When's your last surgery?" he asked.

"Scheduled for four." Her pager went off before she even finished her sentence and with practiced ease, she pulled the device from her hip. She eyed the message with a frown.

Naruto read her expression immediately. "Keep me posted?"

"Yeah," she said as she stood. "I'll see you later."

With a murmured acknowledgement, Naruto reached across the table to steal the rest of her oatmeal. She smiled good-naturedly. That man could eat all day every day, and likely would if he didn't have surgery to distract him.

Sakura's good mood lingered as she swung by the nurses' station to drop off her patient chart before she headed to the elevator. Once inside, she pressed the button for her floor and waited as the lift carried her up. It paused a few floors below hers and automatically her gaze drew to the doors as they opened again.

Her smile fell as Itachi stepped inside.

Sakura had been so busy ignoring him that she hadn't even noticed he had left the cafeteria. He seemed just as surprised to see her but neither spoke as she shifted aside so he could step in beside her. It appeared they were both headed for to same floor and for a few moments that felt like hours, they rode in silence.

"Hatake paged you as well?" Itachi eventually asked.

Her eyes didn't waver from the numbers as the lift tracked the floors but she hummed her reply.

He didn't even seem fazed by her lack of small talk. "It must be a serious trauma."

Sakura didn't answer, and when the the numbers finally fell on their destination, she quickly slipped through the doors before they had fully opened. Itachi followed silently.

Inside the consult room, Kakashi and Neji were waiting silently. The pair stood side-by-side as they studied the numerous scans stacked on the wall while Hanabi stood on the far side of the room, quietly observing.

"What do you have?" Sakura asked.

They both glanced at her before they resumed eyeing the films. Kakashi was the one to answer, "A messy one." His voice was without humor or sarcasm; it was simply fact.

Stepping up beside the two surgeons, Sakura examined the images. Her eyes widened when she realized what she was looking at. "Is that a pole?"

Neji nodded somberly. "The patient was impaled when a work truck lost its load on the highway. The pipe went through her windshield. I was hoping the scans would show that it wasn't as bad as it looked, but her C7 vertebrae is completely crushed. She's lost all feeling in her low extremities."

Sakura briefly glanced at him, her eyes wide. "She's conscious?"

"And alert," Kakashi added.

"That's quite remarkable considering the rod appears to have completely pierced her aortic artery," Itachi said.

Sakura took a second look as the initial shock wore off. She frowned when her trained eye saw exactly what Itachi saw. There was so much damage. They wouldn't even know where to begin. Which is why Kakashi paged both cardio attendings, she suspected.

"So what do we do?" Hanabi suddenly asked.

No one moved. No one answered. All four attendings knew the answer, but none seemed inclined to voice it. It was difficult, condemning as if saying the words out loud made the decision final. They had all been here time and time over, but the next time was never easier than the last.

"Nothing," Sakura finally said.

The resident nearly gaped. "What? We can't just let her die."

"Her injuries are too extensive. We would just be delaying the inevitable."

"So that's it?"

"Yes, that's it," Sakura answered. She then turned to Neji. "You should call the family if you haven't done so already. She won't last much longer-."

"How can you be so dismissive?" Hanabi snapped suddenly. "Or are you really just that cold?"

The room stilled. Slowly Sakura rounded to face the young doctor. Everything from her face to her body language was unreadable as she pinned Hanabi in place with a frosty stare. The resident suddenly looked as if she wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor as every eye settled upon her.

"You think I don't care? You think that I just don't feel like saving her?" Sakura asked rhetorically. Her voice was soft but laced with a hard edge that rang clearly against the silence. "There is a steel rod piercing this woman's chest. It doesn't matter how slowly or carefully we remove it, she will bleed out faster than we can repair the damage. And that's if there is even enough artery left for us to sew a graft onto. So what do you suggest we do?"

Hanabi didn't offer an answer as her gaze fell to the floor. And Sakura didn't wait for one. She turned her back on the young woman as she resumed eyeing the scans, purposely ignoring the stares that burned into the side of her head.

There weren't any options. _There weren't,_ she repeated.

The tension in the room was broken by a pager. Itachi quickly silenced his device. "There's an incoming trauma. Since we all agree this is non-surgical, I can handle the paperwork on this if you would like to take the case in the ER."

Sakura didn't have to look at Itachi to know he was talking to her. He was using _that_ tone again, the one that was a little friendly and a bit placating. She didn't bother hiding her scowl. He had been doing this all week, attempting to give her the 'better' cases and offer to do the more routine surgeries that Sakura found less exciting. She knew it was his way of apologizing, but she still wasn't ready to forgive him. A fact she only made too clear every time.

"No, I've got this one."

A retort readied on her tongue as she waited for Itachi to press and try again, but to her surprise, he simply nodded. "Ok. I will be in the ER then. Page me if you need me."

Then he was gone.

Somewhat taken aback, Sakura tore her steady stare away from the x-rays to eye the doorway he disappeared through. Her comeback still hung on her tongue, heavy and uncomfortable as the pent up energy was left with nowhere to go. It left a bad taste in her mouth and she suddenly felt as if she had just kicked a puppy.

"I will go update the patient," Neji said quietly before he slipped out of the room. Hanabi quickly followed without a word.

When Kakashi remained behind, Sakura glanced at him. The table against the wall supported his weight as he folded his arms over his chest. He said nothing but he studied her in that familiar way like he could read her every thought.

"What?" The single word came out sharp and curt as the annoyance meant for Itachi turned on him.

Kakashi was hardly fazed. "I see you still haven't forgiven Uchiha."

"You think I should?"

He didn't say it but his answer was clear in the way his shoulders rolled in a small shrug.

Sakura glared as her arms crossed defensively. "He left."

"But he came back."

"So that's just supposed to excuse everything else?"

Kakashi visibly softened. He understood how sensitive she was to being left behind, to being forgotten, abandoned. She still had wounds that refused to heal. "Of course not."

"Then why are you defending him?" Sakura asked. Her voice was still firm but it lost much of its caulousness.

"Because as much as you hate to admit it, Itachi is still the Head of your department," he told her, his dark gazing holding hers and refusing to let go. "You're reaching the point where a choice needs to be made. You both can't keep working like this. It's bad for your patients and your work. You know this."

And she did.

The tension in her shoulders fell away with a long sigh. Her eyes drifted back to the row of scans plastered against the wall beside her as if she would find some answer in them. In a way she did. Because for her, it only felt like she had been pierced with a steel pole.

"You think Hanabi's right?" she asked quietly. "You think I'm cold."

Sakura peered at Kakashi when he didn't immediately answer. His face was unreadable but his voice was always more telling. "I think you have a way of letting your emotions control you. Which isn't always bad."

"But not always good," she countered.

Kakashi said nothing as he straightened from the table. He rested his hands over hers where they still curled around her upper arms, quietly supportive but unwavering in his opinion, before he left silently.

Alone, Sakura's thoughts moved freely. She tried not to recall the way Itachi looked at her so openly when they were alone or how disappointment and regret shined in his black eyes every time she rejected him. She felt some of that regret now as his look of dejection from just last night resurfaced in her mind when she had blatantly ignored the cup of coffee he had offered her.

Sakura closed her eyes against the memory. Itachi had hid the look well enough but the sorrow had resonated within her like it was her own and it carved out another small piece to widen the ache in her chest. How did she become like this?

When Sakura opened her eyes again, they settled on the wall of x-rays. A frown tugged at the corner of her mouth as her mind shifted to the medicine, like a railroad switch. The longer she studied the images, the longer her unrest grew until she found herself shaking her head. She couldn't just walk away.

Pivoting on her heels, Sakura hurriedly swept out of the room. She needed to find Neji.

xx

Itachi stared unseeingly ahead. In his lap was a patient chart, his notes half-finished as his mind drifted from one thought to the next unhurriedly. He thought of home - or at least the place he had once called home - and Shisui and his mother.

His phone was silent now, his cousin already off-shift and likely already asleep. It felt heavy in his pocket. Itachi hated that such a small device was his only connection to the one person that had always been a constant in his life. He was reminded again how he had been so easily swayed into going home - or rather his not-home home - and how this whole mess with Sakura had started.

Itachi didn't blame Shisui. And he certainly didn't blame Sakura. It was his own choices that he now found himself alone on the floor, his back pressed against the wall opposite the surgical board as tried to distract himself with paperwork that could probably be left for an intern.

"You still here, Uchiha?"

Itachi picked up his head as Kakashi passed him. His silver hair was tucked under his surgical cap, little dog footprints running circles around his head, but it was the surgery he erased off the board that made Itachi's brow lift curiously.

"You decided to remove the rod after all?"

Kakashi replaced the eraser on the bottom of the board before he leaned back against it to face him. "It was Sakura's idea."

Itachi blinked surprise before he frowned. "She didn't page me."

"Don't take it personally." The trauma surgeon pulled his scrub cap off to rake his fingers through his silver hair. It did nothing to tame his wild locks. "We all knew it was a lost cause."

"Then why do the surgery?"

"Because Sakura wanted to try."

Itachi stared. He wondered if the double meaning was intentional. But when Kakashi continued to hold his gaze unwaveringly, Itachi looked away. He wouldn't allow himself to immediately give into the hope that was threatening to bloom in his chest.

"She has made her sentiments very clear," Itachi said slowly.

Kakashi just shrugged as he crossed his arms loosely over his chest. "That's the thing about Sakura. She's not very good at holding grudges." When Itachi didn't reply, Kakashi continued, "There's a bar downtown, along the water she likes to go to. Just...press her. She'll give."

Itachi peered up at the older surgeon. There was no way Kakashi didn't know of her current grievances against him, and Itachi frowned as he wondered what his angle was. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I like you, Uchiha. And because I think Sakura's going to forgive you. Eventually."

Itachi wasn't so sure about that. "How do you know?"

A secret smirk crossed Kakashi's face as if he was recalling an amusing joke. "Because if she didn't want you here, you wouldn't be." His words made Itachi's brows knit in confusion but before he could ask, the trauma surgeon continued, "I'll let you in on a secret: Sakura's a foodie. If you want to get on her good side, bring her food. And coffee. She likes mochas with extra chocolate and way too much whipped cream."

Kakashi then pushed off the wall and turned to leave only to pause again. "Oh and Uchiha, I don't think I have to tell you what will happen if you hurt her again. Don't make me regret being in your side." His threat rang clearly, his smile promising, before he finally disappeared down the hall.

Itachi watched him go. Even with Kakashi's parting words, he was left feeling lighter than he had all week. Sakura had many friends within the walls of the hospital, but none knew her better than Kakashi. If he believed she was going to forgive him, Itachi was inclined to believe it himself, even if Sakura had been avoiding him. He just needed to press her, as Kakashi had recommended.

It seemed he would be finding an intern to finish his paperwork after all.

xx

The dim overhead lights slipped through the glass windows and danced across the surface of the water below. The city flickered with life across the bay as headlights moved endlessly on the highway like blood through veins. Inside the bar, patrons sat around tables in groups of mostly twos or threes, admiring the water and the inside decor over crystal glasses of wine and liquor.

Itachi found Sakura near the window. The chair opposite her was vacant but the dish settings of both sides showed signs of use. He chose to ignore the resulting twinge in his chest. "May I join you?"

Sakura drew her gaze from the window to frown at him. It was a moment before she answered. "I'm not here alone."

"I know. I promise I won't stay long." The downward pull in the corners of her mouth didn't lessen but she didn't refuse and silently he slipped into the chair across from her.

The candle in the center of the table reflected in her eyes, artificially warming her cold stare, but her expression remained otherwise unchanged. He knew he would have to drive this conversation. "You decided to go ahead with the surgery."

If she was surprised by his choice of topic it didn't show. Nor did any other perceivable emotion. "I did."

"Why?"

"Because she deserved a chance." There was no sentiment in the statement. Just cold, hard fact.

Itachi looked at her thoughtfully. "Even though you knew there wasn't one?"

Something stirred behind her eyes, softening the ice and smoothing its sharper edge. But it was gone before he could identify it, disappearing just as quickly as it had come. "Yes."

"Why?" he asked quietly, not entirely understanding.

Sakura didn't immediately answer as she turned her head to gaze out the window absently. She was silent for so long he thought she might not answer, but then she murmured, "Because I am not cold."

The words were so softly spoken he nearly missed them. His brows pulled together at the hollowness in her voice, wondered what was passing through her thoughts for such emotion to reflect in so few words. He guessed Hanabi's unjustified outburst had struck a nerve, but he didn't dare ask.

"I know you don't trust me," Itachi said softly, redirecting the conversation. "And you have every right not to. But I am here now, Sakura, and I plan to stay. I'm not going anywhere."

Sakura looked at him again, regarded him as thought passed behind her eyes. In this light, they were the darkest shade of emerald. "Why didn't you say goodbye?"

Itachi didn't immediately answer as he was the one to look away this time. He stared down at his hands, suddenly feeling more nervous than he could remember. Like the next words out of his mouth would put all his deepest thoughts and desires out on the table for Sakura to judge.

"I tried. I went to your apartment the night before I left," he confessed. When he looked up, Sakura's expression reflected her confusion. "But as I stood on your doorstep about to knock, I realized that if I spoke to you, that if I saw you, I would never get on that plane. And I needed to get on that plane."

"To get your life back together?" she asked, repeating his own words.

He nodded. "Yes."

Her bemused look didn't fade. "What does that even mean?"

"It is complicated…"

"Try me."

Itachi sighed at her firm tone. They both didn't have the time nor the energy for him to explain the entire story, but perhaps he could satisfy her with a piece. "My father and I do not see eye-to-eye on...well, almost everything," he told her. "He interfered in something he shouldn't have and it has made things…"

"Complicated?" Sakura provided when he trailed off. She pursed her lips when he nodded. "So you flew home to make up with him?"

"Not exactly. When I told him I would not allow him to meddle with the matter, he threatened to disown me."

Sakura blinked. She opened her mouth with one thought only to close it and start with another. "What does your mother think of that?"

"She has tried talking him down, but my father is very proud and set in his ways."

Their conversation lulled then, but some of the warmth Itachi remembered so fondly had returned to her face. No longer did he feel unwelcome in her presence nor held at arm's length emotionally, and he half-wondered if she would have let him enjoy a glass of wine with her if she didn't already have company.

"Thank you for being honest with me," Sakura finally said, but the warmth in her eyes slowly faded. "I know you still have feelings for me and as much as I hate to admit it, I do still care about you. I know you want to go back to the way things were between us before you left, but I just can't. I don't trust you not to leave me behind again."

A strange mix of emotions twisted inside Itachi's chest. His heart fluttered lightly at her confession quickly followed by a heavy lump that settled deep in his stomach. He had truly hurt her. And it hurt him to see it so clearly reflected in her voice now.

"I know," he murmured honestly. "It wasn't my intention tonight to convince you otherwise. I just wanted the opportunity to explain."

A small smile curved in the corners of her mouth before she glanced towards the bar. It was gone in the next instant. "Naruto is on his way back."

Itachi followed her gaze. The blond, pediatric surgeon was navigating his way around the maze of tables with two wine glasses in hand. His time was up.

"Then I will take my leave. Enjoy your evening." Itachi stood then only to hesitate, his hand on the back of the chair. Sakura peered up at him expectantly. "You are anything but cold, Sakura. Don't believe for an instant that you are."

Sakura stared at him in surprise before a genuine smile passed her lips. It made her appear so much younger and he branded the image in his mind. But the moment quickly passed and Itachi eventually forced himself to turn away. He could feel her eyes follow him until he slipped through the front doors.

_**tbc...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have Itachi floundering at trying to apologize and Sakura saying no but also really wanting to say yes...oh, the muddled emotions.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Where it Happened  
part xi** _

As soon as Itachi was out of surgery, he escaped the surgical floor. He made a beeline for the coffee cart next to the nurses' desk on the third floor. He needed coffee, and he needed it three hours ago. And nothing short of an emergency was going to stop him from getting it.

"Doctor Uchiha!"

Itachi didn't even flash Hanabi a glance. "I'm busy, Hyuuga."

"I know," she said, falling into step beside him. "I won't be long. I just saw that you were doing a Septal Myectomy this afternoon and I was hoping that I could scrub in."

This time he did look at her if only to shoot her a pointed look. "Aren't you supposed to be on Hatake's service this week?"

"Well...yes," Hanabi mumbled. "But I was hoping that you would let me scrub in. I saw that you didn't have a resident assisting you. I could get your labs and make sure your patient is ready to go and-."

"Stop." Itachi paused in the hall as he turned to face her. They were so close to the stand he could smell the roasted beans. It teased his senses, but he didn't want a surgery-hungry resident hovering over him while he enjoyed his first break today. "I will let you scrub in," he told her. When her face lit up, he quickly added, "But only if Hatake does not need you. Get him to agree and you can add your name to the board."

The smile on Hanabi's face widened and she nodded excitedly. "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir." Then she dashed off around the corner.

Itachi shook his head. Residents.

When he turned back to the coffee cart, Ino was the only other person there. He slipped into line behind the General Surgeon and waited until she had finished to place his own order. He felt her gaze before she spoke. "She's fairly fond of you."

"Sakura?" Itachi asked.

A strange look crossed Ino's face. "Hanabi," she clarified.

He merely shrugged nonchalantly before he collected his change from the barista and dropped it in the tip jar. "She is interested in Cardio. I can understand her enthusiasm."

Beside him, Ino hummed but didn't comment further as the woman behind the coffee stand finished her drink. The blonde accepted it with a smile before she popped the lid off her cup and grabbed a handful of sugar packets.

Itachi watched the barista as she made his own drink. He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from tapping his fingers against the counter. Like a junkie anxiously awaiting his next fix. Which likely wasn't far from the truth.

"Speaking of Sakura," Ino continued after a moment, "have you seen her today?"

"Not since this morning," he told her with a brief glance. "She was scheduled to perform a valve replacement, but she should be out soon as long as there weren't any complications."

"Ah," Ino murmured as she stirred her drink slowly. "I've been trying to find her all day. One of my favorite jackets went missing and I think she stole it. Did you see which one she was wearing this morning?"

"I believe it was white. With a collar and silver buttons."

"Did you happen to see last night?"

"She was wearing her black trench coat." It had matched her black, heeled boots. The ones that clicked sharply with every step she took. Confident and demanding of attention.

Ino snapped her lid back on. "Thanks so much," she said. She smiled secretly as if she had found some answer she had been looking for. "See you later, Uchiha."

Itachi said nothing as he watched her go. He suddenly felt as if he had just been tested, but on what he hadn't the faintest clue. It's not like he had told her anything personal. At least he didn't think so. Weird...

Itachi turned away after the blonde disappeared around the corner. The exact moment the barista placed his order on the counter, his pager went off. Automatically he grabbed for it only to freeze. OR 2. 911.

That was Sakura's OR.

In the next instant, Itachi sprinted down the hall, his coffee forgotten. The familiar alarms of low patient vitals reach his ears the moment he stepped into the scrub room. Inside the operating room, the surgical team worked quickly to stabilize the patient but their stats were still falling by the time Itachi scrubbed and stepped into the room.

There was blood everywhere. On the floor, soaking the surgical towels, coating nearly every tool on the tray. Sakura was drenched. It was splattered across her surgical gown, up her neck and even across her mask. Something had gone terribly wrong.

"What happened?" Itachi asked.

"He blew his sutures when we took him off by-pass," Sakura said. She ordered another clamp from the scrub nurse before continuing, "And now his right coronary artery is also threatening to dissect."

As soon as Itachi was gowned and gloved he stepped up to the patient. Blood was pooling in the patient's chest, making it impossible to find the tear even with suction siphoning it out of the way. Without asking, he already knew what Sakura needed.

"Hang another unit of blood and get four more units down here," Itachi ordered. He then held his hand out towards the scrub nurse for more lap pads. They had to move quickly.

##

Sakura was in the attendings' lounge after surgery. She was seated on the long bench in front of a row cubbies, one tennis shoe on the floor while she inspected the other. She didn't look up when the door closed behind Itachi.

"How is your patient?" he asked.

"Critical but stable for now," she said as she lowered her shoe. "I'll have to stick an intern on him for the next twenty-four hours to make sure there weren't any other complications, but I think we were able to repair all the damage."

He nodded. "Your patient was lucky. There was a lot more damage to the vessels than the tests showed."

Sakura hummed her agreement, her thoughts running through the what-ifs and had-she-known scenarios. But it all came down to the fact that she did what needed doing with the information the tests had given.

"Thanks for coming so quickly," she said with a faint smile.

"Of course."

Itachi lowered himself onto the bench beside her as Sakura returned to her shoe. The instant he was off his feet, he was reminded that he still hadn't taken a break that day. During surgery, the pain was easy to ignore with so many other things going on, but here in the aftermath, it always slammed into him. And he still hadn't had any coffee.

A heavy sigh from the woman beside him made Itachi glance at Sakura again. It was then that he realized what she had been staring at. Her shoes were stained with blood. The worn, rubber soles were dark and splotchy in places while crimson stripes and droplets splashed up the sides.

"You going to try and salvage them?"

Sakura pursed her lips a moment before she shook her head. "I think it's a lost cause."

One of the downsides of being a surgeon. They went through a lot of shoes in a month. A lot.

"Damn," she murmured more to herself as she stood. "I liked these ones too."

Itachi said nothing as she grabbed her other shoe from the floor before she crossed the room to drop both into the garbage. When she turned back around, he was still watching her. "What?"

He didn't answer immediately. Not because he didn't know what to say, but because he didn't know how she would take it if he told her how stunning she looked then. And she wasn't even trying. Even shoeless and with a stained scrub top, she was still adorable to him.

Crap.

"There's blood on your scrubs," Itachi told her instead.

"What?" Sakura followed his gaze down. "Nice. And you let me talk to the patient's family like this?"

However, when she looked up, there was a teasing smile in the corner of her mouth. Itachi smirked. "I find the 'Carrie at the Prom' look attractive."

"I didn't take you for the kinky sorts. What else are you hiding behind that pretty face?"

His smirk widened and he cocked a brow. "Are you asking me to tell you my turn ons?"

"That depends," she said, biting back her grin. "Would you tell me?"

Itachi eyed her. He wondered if there was more to this conversation than just friendly banter and teasing smiles. But he couldn't see anything past the laughter dancing in her emerald eyes and he smiled secretly. "Perhaps. But only if you share as well."

"Me? I don't have any kinks. I'm pure and innocent," she said sarcastically.

They laughed together at her joke, but the moment didn't last as Sakura glanced at the clock then.

Her demeanor flipped like a switch. "Is that the time? I am so late for my meeting!"

In the next instant, Sakura was topless. Before Itachi even had the chance to look away, she stripped off her scrub top and undershirt, leaving her in just her bra. His mouth suddenly went dry and it didn't even cross his mind to divert his eyes until Sakura grabbed a fresh shirt from her cubby and pulled it down over her head.

Only after she had finished lacing up a new pair of shoes and stood that he gathered enough brain cells to focus. "Sakura, wait," he said, halting her hasty retreat. She turned back to him expectantly, but her dark bra was still floating in the forefront of his mind. "Blood."

She stared at him in confusion. "What?"

He shook himself inwardly before trying again. "You have blood. On your neck."

Without any further explanation, Itachi closed the distance between them to wipe the small smear of crimson just under her jaw away. Standing this close, he didn't miss the way her breath paused in her throat before she exhaled quietly, unevenly. Like her body had forgotten how to breathe on its own.

She stared at him with wide eyes. They were bright green and brimming with intelligence and something he couldn't quite name. Anticipation? The faint scent of her laundry detergent teased his nose, a familiar fragrance he had subconsciously come to associate with _her_. Silence passed. A moment that lasted forever but wasn't nearly long enough.

Then Sakura blinked and stepped back. "I...I'm late."

Itachi still didn't move even after she disappeared out the door. For just a second - just one, little fleeting instant - he had gotten the feeling Sakura wouldn't have minded if he had kissed her then. It was so small but he was sure of it and quiet hope began to bloom in his chest. He smiled to himself.

She still wanted him. Even if she hid it and fought against it, she still did. That made him happy. That and the fact the image of her in her little, black bra was still branded into his memory.

When he finally turned away from the door, Itachi was full on smirking. Today was turning out to be a good day, after all.

##

Sakura drummed her pen absently against her notebook as she skimmed an article on the computer. Using the mouse, she scrolled down only pausing to read a paragraph here and there before she moved on again.

Besides herself, the room was empty but not silent. With the nurses' station just outside the door, conversation and the day-to-day activity kept the quiet at bay. Not that Sakura minded. She preferred some background noise. The nurse gossip was a welcomed break from the endless data and trial studies. Plus the drama entertained her.

The station was absent of it now, leaving Sakura to work in peace. She skimmed the research before pausing to scratch some notes down just below her previous ones.

"You know, you are a hard person to find when you want to be."

Sakura didn't immediately reply. She didn't even look up until she had finished putting her thought to paper before she fixed her gaze on Ino. The blonde was leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed and a look on her face that clearly showed there was something on her mind.

"I wasn't trying to be," Sakura said. "What's up?"

"A couple of things actually," Ino said. Then her blue eyes briefly flickered to the computer screen. "I mean, if you have a minute."

Sakura sat back in her chair with an amused smile before she turned to face her friend fully. Whatever she had to say it wasn't about work. "Yeah, I don't have anywhere to be right now."

That was all the permission Ino needed.

"Well first, I'm pretty sure Itachi likes you, and not just like as a friend, but like _likes_ you. Wait no, that was second thing," Ino backtracked. "First thing, I'm moving in with Shika. Second, Itachi likes you and third, did you know Tenten is banging Neji?" Like word vomit, her words came out almost as fast as her mind could move, leaving Ino almost breathless and Sakura somewhat stunned.

Dumbstruck, Sakura sat there. She opened her mouth but she was still trying to process all the bombs that had just been dropped on her. "Wait, what? You're going to have to go back."

Ino sighed before she smirked brazenly, like she was about to dish out a juicy piece of drama. Which probably wasn't that far from the truth. "I just heard Tenten and Neji in the on-call room."

"That doesn't mean they're having sex."

"Well I doubt that she was moaning in pleasure from a nap," Ino retorted. "But I'll know for certain after I interrogate her tonight."

Sakura huffed in amusement. "Oh, let the poor girl be. At least she's getting some."

"Jealous?" Ino smirked.

"Shut up," she returned without malice. Then Sakura eyed her curiously. "Did you say you're moving in with Shikamaru?"

If Ino noticed her redirection, she didn't say anything. "Yeah, he asked me last night," she said with a hint of a smile. "I know we've only been seeing each other for a few months, but I don't know. It just feels so natural with him, you know?"

Sakura nodded, even if she didn't know. She had never been lucky enough to find someone where everything just clicked and was all so easy like it was meant to be. Or whatever. When it came to love, Sakura seemed to always find herself in the shallow end of that dream pool.

"You're happy then?" Sakura asked.

Ino's answer was clear in the smile that warmed her beautiful face. "Yeah, I am. He's good to me and for me. I think I could probably marry him…" She blinked suddenly. "But don't tell him I said that. He'd run away."

Sakura snorted but the sound faded quickly when Ino fixed her with a purposeful stare. "So what's the deal with you and Uchiha?"

"What do you mean?" Sakura feigned ignorance.

Ino shot her a meaningful look. "You can't tell me that you haven't noticed the way he looks at you or how he talks to you. Not to mention the fact that you got all moopy when he left or how pissed you were when he came back. I know something's going on. So what it is?"

Sakura didn't immediately answer. Her eyes returned to the computer screen beside her but she stared at the text without seeing. What had started as another one of Ino's bad jokes had suddenly become something so much more. Everything had been so much simpler when Itachi was just the new attending Sakura loved to hate.

"Don't get mad," Sakura began slowly. "Before Itachi left, we may have…"

"Oh my god, did you two sleep together?" Ino interrupted loudly.

"What? No!" Sakura glanced through the window towards the nurses' station to make sure they hadn't been overheard. She relaxed when she saw the coast was clear. "We just...made out like horny teenagers on my couch once." When Ino's eyes widened, she repeated, "Once!"

Ino was slow to relax against the doorway again. "So what? Are you two dating now or something?"

Sakura breathed a long sigh.

"Is it the boss thing?" Ino prodded. "'Cause you know technically-."

"It's not the boss thing."

"Oh, I see. It's the Gaara thing."

Sakura's eyes sharpened into a glare. "It's not the Gaara thing."

The blonde didn't even flinch, long immune to her hard, emerald stare. "Then what is it?"

Sakura looked away. This felt like deja vu, only this time it was Ino asking the questions rather than Kakashi. Sakura wasn't really mad at Itachi, not anymore. But she was still reluctant to let him in again. He may not have broken her heart when he disappeared but he had still hurt her and she hadn't forgotten that.

"I just don't know that he's not going to leave again," Sakura finally said.

"So it is the Gaara thing." Ino held up her hands defensively when Sakura shot her an even darker stare. "Did he at least tell you why he left?"

"He had some family issues to work out," she said, most of her indignation fading with her answer.

It was Ino's turn to become affronted. "And you're holding that against him? Are you serious?"

Sakura blinked, taken aback by her sudden attitude. "I'm not holding that against him. It's just that…"

"Just what? Because to me it looks like you're holding a grudge against Itachi for something someone else did to you," Ino said sharply. "Which is completely unfair to him."

Sakura opened her mouth but she didn't immediately find her words. Ino's sudden annoyance still puzzled her. "Why are you so mad at me?"

"Because it's like you're looking for every reason to be unhappy. Itachi likes you. So if you don't want to be with him, don't. But don't hold him leaving to deal with family over his head like he owes you something, Sakura. We all have our own problems."

"Ino…"

But the blonde wasn't looking at her anymore. Her pager was calling for attention and Ino pulled it from the waistband of her scrubs only to straighten from the door frame. "I have to go. I'm needed in the ER."

Sakura nearly called her name again but decided against it. Ino had work to do and Sakura wasn't sure she wanted her blonde friend to stay so she could tear into her again. It had been a long time since Ino had ripped into her like that. So long in fact Sakura began to wonder if there was some truth to her words.

Itachi had been nothing but kind and understanding since he came back. And Sakura had been doing her best to keep him at arm's length. She could blame him for leaving without saying anything, but she had no right to be angry he left. Even if he had said goodbye, it wouldn't have changed anything. So why was she being such a bitch about the whole thing?

Probably because she knew she could very easily fall in love with Itachi if she let herself. Which is where her anger was really stemming from. It was a defense mechanism. Things had been so much simpler when they were coworkers. Before he had gone and kissed her. Before he had gone and made himself so interesting. Why did Itachi have to be so...so himself? And why did she have to be so attracted to it?

Crap.

Raking her hands through her hair, Sakura turned back to the computer. She wasn't going to think about Ino or Itachi or anyone else anymore. She was going to focus on her research and not let anything distract her.

At least that had been Sakura's plan until her pager went off a little while later. Without pause, she sprung to her feet, leaving her paperwork where it lay, before she hurried down to the OR. Itachi was already inside, elbow-deep in a patient's chest as he worked calmly but proficiently.

Sakura studied the multiple monitors surrounding the patient as she accepted a gown and gloves from one of the scrub nurses. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Is this your Septal Myectomy patient?"

"No, that got pushed," Itachi said without taking his eyes off his work. "This woman came into the ER complaining of chest pains. She had a spinal fusion at the Ortho and Sports Medicine Clinic across town yesterday, but they said there were no complications. I'm not entirely sure what's wrong."

"It's possible it's unrelated," Sakura offered.

She stepped up to the table across from Itachi the moment she was ready to go. Her hands moved with practice as she helped determine the source of the blood, using the suction to follow the flow as her fingertips felt for any abnormalities.

"Do we have a file on the patient? Any history of heart disease or-ouch!" Sakura pulled her hand out of the patient's chest cavity the moment pain pinched her fingertip.

Itachi looked at her sharply, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I felt something sharp," she said as she gazed at her gloved fingertip. Under the light, she made out a small tear. "There's a hole in my glove."

"What? Are you alright?"

One of the scrub nurses helped pull her glove off for her. Once Sakura was sure her skin wasn't broken, she slipped on another glove before she turned back to the patient. "Yeah, I'm fine. What the hell was that?"

Itachi didn't reply as he continued working on stemming the blood. He stilled a moment later before he withdrew his hand from the patient's chest, his fingers wrapped around something. Both their eyes widened when he opened his hand to find a surgical screw sitting in his palm.

"Is that…?" Sakura said slowly. "What the hell did that Clinic do in her surgery?"

Itachi dropped the screw into a metal basin before he glanced towards one of the nurses. "Call the Ortho Clinic and let them know what's happening. And someone page Tenten. She's going to have to go back in once we're done here."

The nurses towards the back of the OR sprang into motion to carry out his orders immediately.

Without looking up, Sakura called for more surgical towels only to frown behind her mask when they immediately soaked through. "There's a hole in her ventricular wall. We're going to have to put her on bypass."

Itachi nodded his agreement. "Alright, let's get it going."

Time passed unnoticed while the pair operated. As if they had been doing it for years, Itachi and Sakura moved together, suturing and cutting and repairing like a well-oiled machine. It was so natural, so easy that Sakura didn't even recognize they were doing it until she found herself providing Itachi the next tool without a single word exchanged.

Their eyes met as he accepted the sutures in her offered hand. The intensity of his gaze struck her like a shock from a crash cart and in that instant, everything cleared away until she was left with nothing but pure, utter clarity. When all the concerns and fears and _what-ifs_ faded, it was all very simple. So why was she still fighting it? Still fighting him?

She was still pondering that when Itachi looked away. His sutures were flawless. The repair textbook. Sakura wasn't even sure she could have done a better job, not that she would ever admit it. The last thing she needed was for Itachi's ego to inflate to bursting.

"Alright, shall we see if I have earned my paycheck today?" Itachi asked.

Under her mask, Sakura smirked before she nodded at the surgical team.

Itachi and Sakura waited patiently, their hands above the surgical field and their eyes locked together. The OR was near silent. The whir of the machines slowed to a stop. Nothing was louder in that moment than Sakura's own heartbeat as it pulsed calmly in her ears.

Only once the blood began to circulate back through the patient's heart did Sakura drop her gaze back down. It seemed Itachi had earned his paycheck. Everything was holding and moving smoothly as it should-

"Hold on, stop," Itachi suddenly said.

Sakura looked up sharply and followed his gaze to the heart monitor. The patient's vitals were dropping. Something was wrong.

Slipping her hands back inside, Sakura found the problem immediately. "The patch isn't holding."

"There must be more damage," he said. Even without looking up, she could hear his frown. "Restart bypass."

"What do you want to do? I doubt another patch will hold," she asked as she used her fingers to plug the slowly-widening hold in their patient's heart.

It was a moment before Itachi answered. "What about a cardiac autotransplantation."

Sakura blinked, her eyes wide. "You want to take her heart out of her chest to repair it?"

Itachi just held her gaze evenly.

It was a long, difficult surgery but taking the heart directly out of the patient's chest would give them the visualization they needed, Sakura reasoned. And honestly, she wasn't sure what other choice they had at this point. Their patient wouldn't survive otherwise.

Sakura exhaled slowly. "Ayame, would you be so kind as to fetch me an espresso? We're going to be a while."

Behind her, a nurse nodded. "Yes, Doctor."

"Ayame," Itachi said, halting her exit, "please make that two?"

Over the table, Sakura looked at Itachi. He held her gaze, his eyes tired but his excitement for the surgery shining brightly. After all, it wasn't every day they got to do this. Sakura smirked.

"Ten blade."

##

Fourteen hours later and Itachi was so tired he thought he might fall asleep standing up. He didn't know what time it was. Didn't even know what day it was. The next few minutes passed in a blur from the scrub room to the elevator to the attendings' lounge.

He sunk low on the couch in the corner. The darkness behind the blinds told him it was still nighttime. Which was good. Night meant fewer emergencies, fewer surgeries - hopefully none that needed his immediate attention. Because right now all he could think of was sleep.

Itachi's eyes fluttered open when the couch dipped beside him. He must have nodded off, he realized. Sakura had volunteered to get their patient settled in the Cardiac ICU and yet here she was reclined back against the couch next to him, her own face washed in exhaustion.

Without picking his head up from the back of the couch, Itachi rolled his head to study her profile. She said nothing. Just stared ahead out the window at the cracked blinds, her arms folded loosely across her middle. Then she turned her head towards him. "That was insane."

Itachi flashed a tired smirk. "You've never performed an autotransplant on a heart?"

"You have?"

He saw her point. They were rare. When there was that much trauma, a patient usually needed a new heart completely. That or they died.

"Once," he told her. "My fourth year of residency."

Her eyes widened. "Really? You'll have to tell me about it some day."

"Some day?"

"I'm too tired right now," she said. She propped her elbow on the arm of the couch and rested her cheek in her palm as her eyes slid shut. "But some day."

She didn't see but Itachi smiled at that. Sakura wanted him around. She didn't say it outright but he knew what the implication meant. It caused the little bud of hope that had nestled under his breastbone to bloom again.

"We should celebrate," Sakura suddenly said a minute later.

Itachi opened his eyes again to stare at her, but her own eyes were closed. "Right now?" he asked.

"Mm...maybe tomorrow," she said after a long yawn. "But we should. This is a surgery worth celebrating."

Itachi hummed his agreement sleepily before they both fell quiet. He knew Sakura was asleep a few minutes later when her breath evened out to a deep, steady rhythm. He turned his head to look at her. Even with her face lined in exhaustion, she still looked content. Like all those hours of aching feet and sore backs had been worth it. And it had. They saved a life.

It was the first time in a long while Itachi could remember her looking so relaxed and unguarded. She really was terribly beautiful. And it wasn't just the hair and the face and the eyes, which he was convinced was the most brilliant shade of green he'd ever seen. Her mind was stunning too. She was all wit and sass and brilliance.

And young too. Sakura just eminited confidence and intelligence that sometimes he forgot she was seven years younger than himself. It no longer surprised him she had never performed a surgery like the one they had just done before. She really hadn't been an attending for to terribly long. And yet she still had the strength and aptitude to run a department. Amazing.

Some minutes passed as Itachi simply watched her. Her quiet inhales and exhales were lulling him back to sleep, but he knew he couldn't leave her sleeping like that. With her head cradled in her hand, she would wake with a kink in her neck, and likely a headache.

Grasping her shoulders, Itachi gently eased Sakura back until she was sitting low against the back of the couch and reclined comfortably. She didn't wake, didn't even stir. Only once was she settled did Itachi relax beside her, his own eyes slipping closed as his mind drifted away...

The slamming of a door jerked Itachi awake. His eyes snapped open only to blink harshly as morning light burned his vision. A gentle weight was pinning one of his arms in place, forcing him to use the other to rub the sleep from his eyes. When he was finally able to pry his eyes open, he stilled.

The solid warmth was Sakura. She was curled against him, her back pressed flush to his chest with her head on his shoulder. Her hair was spilling over the cushion, the sweet scent of her shampoo filling his nose and teasing his senses.

She was slowly waking up too. She rolled onto her back and ran her hand down her face, her mascara dusting black under her eyes, before she finally looked up at him. In that moment she seemed to realize their position for she froze, her eyes wide. "Uhm…"

"Good morning."

Both their eyes shot to Kakashi. He was standing at the foot of the couch, coffee in hand as he observed them. Sakura pushed herself up immediately. Itachi followed albeit at a slower pace as sleep still clung to the edges of his mind.

"You two look cozy," Kakashi said, clearly trying to keep from smirking.

Sakura shot him a look that told him to shut it before she raked a hand through her pink locks. "What time is it?"

Kakashi held the coffee out towards her. "Quarter to six. Your first surgery is in thirty minutes."

She took a long sip of coffee before she let out an appreciative hum. "Just enough time to shower then," she said before she stood.

The trauma surgeon watched her walk away before he glanced at Itachi. "You've been requested in the ER, Uchiha."

"Emergency?" he asked reluctantly. He was still groggy and likely needed a shower himself.

To his relief, Kakashi shook his head. "They didn't say. I'm sure they can spare you a minute or two."

Itachi nodded before he brushed his bangs out of his face with a yawn. Sakura was already at her cubby, searching out fresh clothes and a towel, but her movements were sluggish like she was still half-asleep too.

How long did they sleep for? It felt like it had only been a few minutes. Itachi could have laid there for another few hours, longer with Sakura's warm still curled against him. Damn Kakashi.

Itachi glanced at him now to find the silver-haired surgeon was still watching him, a knowing gleam in his eyes. Itachi pointedly ignored him. Instead he stood from the couch to dig through his own locker. His phone was sitting in front, dead, with his pager beside it, also in need of a charge. At least he still had another set of clean clothes.

"Can you tell the resident to start prepping my patient for surgery?" Sakura asked from her cubby.

"I make sure you're awake for your surgery, I bring you coffee, and what do I get in return? Not even a thanks. I'm so unappreciated," Kakashi complained on the other side of the room.

"Thank you, Kakashi," she said singsongy. "Although, didn't I just bring you breakfast like yesterday?"

Itachi didn't hear Kakashi's reply as he slipped into the adjoining room that held the men's showers. By the time he was done, both Sakura and Kakashi were gone. Or so he had thought.

The door to the women's showers opened as Itachi was tying his shoes. He glanced up just as Sakura walked out. She was dressed in only her scrub bottoms and a white tank top, the water in her hair damping it around her shoulders.

"Sorry for falling asleep on you," she said as she pulled a scrub top from her locker and dropped it onto the bench.

Itachi stared at her. She couldn't possibly be so oblivious. "I didn't mind."

She smiled before she gathered her hair in her hands and twisted it into a knot on top of her head. "Are you busy tonight?"

"No. Unless I get pulled into another fourteen hour surgery."

Sakura let out a breathy laugh at that before she lowered her hands from her hair. "Good. We should celebrate then. And I still want to hear the story of your first autotransplant."

Itachi finished tying his shoe before he turned on the bench to face her. She didn't immediately notice his stare as she clipped her pager to her waistband and secured her watch on her wrist. It was all so very casual, familiar like she had simply asked him the time. He hadn't realized she had been serious last night.

"You want to have dinner with me?" he clarified.

This time when Sakura looked at him, her smile faded. She heaved a sigh. "Look, I know I haven't exactly been fairly with you. You should have told me you were leaving, but it wouldn't have changed the fact that you would have left anyway. So I'm sorry. And...I guess I'm trying to say can we start over?"

Itachi blinked. That had been the last thing he expected her to say. But it still dispersed the knot he hadn't realized had been nestled in his chest and a soft smile crossed his face. "I would like that. I'll pick you up at eight?"

Her face relaxed, like she had been half-expecting him to reject her, before she nodded. "Yeah. First round's on me," she said as she grabbed her scrub top.

"I'll buy first round," Itachi said, a smirk forming on his face. "After all, it's only fair."

Her brow furrowed. "What is?"

"That I buy you a drink after I saw you topless."

Her confusion only deepened. "When did you…" Understanding widened her eyes before her cheeks flushed a deep red. "Oh gods," she said, dropping her face into her hands.

Itachi chuckled. "You have nothing to be embarrassed of."

She lowered her hands to shoot him a look. "Stop laughing at me."

"I am not laughing at you," he said honestly. But the smile still lingered in the corner of his mouth.

"Well…don't think I'll be getting naked for you any time soon."

"I believe all we agreed to was dinner." Sakura shook her head but there was a smile on her face as well. Itachi couldn't help but tease her a little further. "Unless you want to, of course-."

He cut off abruptly as she threw her scrub top at him. He caught it easily. "Aren't you supposed to be headed to the ER?" she asked.

Itachi chuckled as he stood. "I'm going. I will see you tonight." He passed her shirt back to her and made for the door only to hesitate in the doorway. "And to answer your question, Sakura, you in that bra is my kink."

Sakura snorted. But her smile widened before she made a point of turning away from him. Itachi merely smirked at her back.

The ER was already filling with patients when Itachi entered. Somewhere a child was crying. In the ambulance entrance, a paramedic was pushing in a stretcher with a patient, and the phone behind the nurses' desk was ringing. It was chaos.

But there was organization to the madness. Residents and nurses bustled about the room, managing patients in order of priority as they exchanged information.

Itachi easily weaved around them to reach the check-in desk. The nurse stationed there pointed him towards Trauma Room One without pausing her conversation on the phone. After grabbing a pair of gloves from the cart just outside the room, he used his elbow to push the door opened and entered the room. "What do we have?"

"Burn victim with at least two broken ribs."

"Has anyone ordered chest x-rays yet?" Itachi asked.

"No, that's why I called you here, baby cousin."

Itachi stilled. He looked up sharply only to meet a pair of eyes as black as his own and a smirk so achingly familiar he would recognize it anywhere.

"Shisui?"

_**tbc...** _


	12. Chapter 12

_**Where it Happened  
part xii** _

There was a mass casualty - an office building fire. Which only meant one thing in a hospital: All non-emergency surgeries were pushed. Sakura's included.

That was how she found herself in the Emergency Room, bouncing from one patient to the next as she assessed and treated injuries. Most patients were non-surgical, even less non-critical, but she continued to help suture wounds and order scans as she and the rest of the staff tried to clear some beds for the patients that were still coming in.

Using her handheld light pen, Sakura flashed a light across her latest patient's eyes and studied the way their pupils reacted. She frowned minutely when the response was slow and sluggish. "Let's get a head CT and page Neuro when you have the results," she ordered a resident. The younger doctor nodded before Sakura moved into the nearest trauma bay.

Kakashi was already there, studying an x-ray, and he glanced at her when she stopped beside him. "Oh, good. You're here," he said.

"What do you have?"

"Thirty-three year old firefighter fell from a ladder trying to rescue a couple of people stranded," Kakashi told her. "Neuro already cleared his C-spine but he fractured a couple of ribs and his ankle. Ortho is on their way, but there's another trauma inbound in a few minutes I need to take. Are you able to examine him for me?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I can take him until Tenten gets here. You go."

The older surgeon flashed a smile at her before he left. As soon as he was gone, Sakura turned back to the patient. She went through her normal routine, asking him what hurt as she did her exam and if it hurt more or less when she pressed in certain areas. Fortunately it seemed his injuries were minor and she wrapped up just as Tenten arrived.

"How's it going in here?" the brunette asked.

Sakura stepped aside to give her room before she reached for the patient's chart. "Just a broken ankle and a few fractured ribs but his chest scan came back clear. He's all yours," Sakura said.

Tenten nodded before she spoke to the patient. Sakura listened absently as she updated his chart and added her own notes. Just beyond, the usual noises of the ER drifted by and she picked her head up when she heard the trauma room across the way open. A handful of hospital staff stepped out, pulling an obviously injured patient out after them. Itachi was quick to follow but it was the person with him that made Sakura take a second glance.

_Was that Shisui?_

It _was_ , she realized incredulously. There was no mistaking it. But what was he doing here? Had Itachi known he was coming? Sakura was likely one of the few people here that knew how close the cousins were. She knew Itachi missed his best friend even if he hid it well and while she was happy that Shisui had surprised him with a visit, her stomach also twisted into sharp knots. The last time she had seen Shisui, he had convinced Itachi to jump on a plane back across the country.

Silently Sakura watched them disappear down the hall, mixed emotions warring back and forth within her, but she wasn't given any longer than a few moments to stare before another trauma burst in through the doors.

"Incoming trauma!"

Tearing her eyes away, Sakura dropped the patient's chart onto the tray and hurried to meet the paramedics. Kakashi had met them outside and was already collecting all the information about their patient. "Thirty-three year old pregnant female. She got trapped under a piece of debris when trying to escape the fire. Crush injuries to the upper extremities and a deep head lac. She was stable in the field but pressure is dropping."

"Let's get her stable and up to CT. And someone page Uzumaki-."

"Yumi!"

Sakura cut off abruptly and turned towards the shout to see it was the firefighter who had called the woman's name. He was sitting up on his gurney, one arm supporting his ribs, as he tried to get a better look. His eyes widened as he recognized the injured woman.

"You know her?" Sakura asked.

"That's Yumi! That's my wife!" he exclaimed, trying to push himself out of bed.

Leaving the woman in Kakashi's care, Sakura hurried to the firefighter's side quickly before both she and Tenten tried to keep him in bed. He struggled weakly against them, his eyes still fixated on his wife as Kakashi wheeled her into a trauma room.

As soon as she was out of sight, his irritation grew. "Please, I have to go see her. I need to know she's okay."

"Sir, I need you to calm down and lay back," Tenten said gently but firmly.

His struggles didn't ease. Sakura understood his fears and even sympathized with him but there was nothing he could do for her now and if he pushed his body too hard, he would only agitate his own injuries.

"Please," he tried again.

"There's nothing you can do for her right now," Sakura reasoned. "Now I need you to calm down so I can go help your wife, but there's some things I need to ask you and I can't get those answers until you sit back and relax."

It seemed that was enough to calm him for he ceased his struggling and allowed the two surgeons to help him recline back against the bed. As soon as he was settled, Sakura began asking him everything she needed to know. Then she bolted for the trauma room.

Inside, Kakashi and Naruto were working quickly to access the damage. Sakura slipped on a pair of gloves before she joined them. "She's twenty-three weeks pregnant. No medical history the husband knows of and she's not currently taking any medication."

Naruto didn't look up from the portable ultrasound he was studying but he nodded, silently conveying he had heard her. Kakashi moved aside to give her room as he pulled his stethoscope from his ears. "I have decreased breath sounds on the right and her pupils are sluggish."

"Baby's showing signs of distress," Naruto informed them.

The instant the words left his mouth, alarms began going off. Sakura looked up sharply, noting that her heart rhythm were becoming more erratic and irregular. "Her pressure is dropping," Kakashi said. "Where are those chest x-rays?"

"I have them here!" a trauma nurse called as she ran into the room.

Turning away from the patient, Sakura peered at the scans as the nurse held them up to the light for her. Her eyes widened when she realized what she was looking at. "She has an intercostal arterial bleed."

"What?" Naruto asked. "Are you sure?"

Normally Sakura would want to run more tests to confirm there was a tear in the artery behind her heart but the patient was unstable and the baby was already in distress. She didn't think either of them would live that long. Besides, Sakura had seen plenty in her time; she was already completely sure at what she was looking at.

"Yes," she said.

The blond frowned. "Well we can't just open her up. The baby wouldn't survive and a premature baby this young doesn't have great odds."

"I know that," she told him, her mind already racing through the options.

"So what do you want to do?"

Sakura didn't answer. She studied the scans a moment longer and then the monitor before finally speaking, "What about an endovascular embolization?"

Naruto blinked. "You want to stick a catheter up her femoral artery to embolize the bleed? She's pregnant!"

"It's rare to perform on a pregnant woman but not unheard of. I do this or I open her up," Sakura said with a note of finality.

The pediatric surgeon stared at her for a long moment, inwardly weighing the risks, but eventually he relented. "Fine. Do the procedure. But I'll be monitoring the baby the entire time."

She just smiled as the trauma nurses prepared the room. "Wouldn't want it any other way."

##

Plastics was a delicate speciality. It took concentration and patience. A lot of patience. Something that one wouldn't think Shisui was capable of on first impression. However, Itachi had watched his cousin debride a burn for hours without a break, had watched him sit with a patient through an entire night just to talk to distract them from the pain. If there was one thing Itachi would say Shisui was good at, it was patience.

Which is why it was hardly surprising it took Shisui longer to finish with their patient. Itachi had closed the woman's chest nearly an hour ago and had since been waiting for his cousin behind the nurses' desk across from the surgical board, his mind reeling.

With all the critical injuries that had come in that morning from the office fire downtown, Itachi hadn't had the chance to learn why his cousin was here. Itachi hoped he was just visiting. He was sure had something happened to his mother or father or brother, Shisui would have said something by now. But Itachi still couldn't rule the possibility out.

When Shisui finally appeared nearly half an hour later, it took a great deal of self control for Itachi not to immediately jump out of his chair. "How is the patient?" Itachi asked. It wasn't his most pressing question but he would always put his patients before himself.

"Good," Shisui said, pulling his scrub cap from his head. "Her burns were pretty deep. I expect she'll probably be hospitalized for a while, but as long as everything goes according to plan she'll survive."

Itachi nodded but didn't reply as he studied his cousin. Nothing seemed off but Shisui was surprisingly hard to read when he wanted to be. Like the time he had eaten the apple pie Mikoto had baked for a dinner party and then blamed it on Sasuke. His brother still brought that up every argument.

Shisui seemed to sense Itachi's burning question for he redirected the conversation. "You want to know why I'm here."

"Did something happen back home?" Itachi asked.

To his relief, his cousin shook his head. "No, I have a case here. Something you would know had you bothered to check any of the voicemails I left you last night."

Confused, Itachi pulled his phone out of his pocket. His morning had almost immediately begun with chaos and it had slipped his mind to even check any of the text messages and phone calls he'd missed when his device had died the night before. Sure enough, there were a few voicemails from Shisui still sitting unread.

"I was in a fourteen-hour surgery last night."

This time it was Shisui's turn to be surprised. "Oh. Well that would explain it."

"Did you think I was ignoring you?" Itachi asked dryly.

"New city, new job," Shisui listed. "I figured you would have found yourself a new cousin by now."

Itachi shot him a look but he let the comment slide. He was just relieved all was well back home. Unlocking his phone, he quickly read through his text messages. None immediately needed his attention and he stored the device again as he glanced at Shisui. "So what case do you have here?"

"Hyuuga in Neuro has a patient with brain tumors that also suffers from craniodiaphyseal dysplasia. His disease has caused a build up of calcium in the skull, leaving him...disfigured, to put it bluntly," Shisui explained. "I'm here to see if I can remove some of those growths to give the patient a more normal appearance."

"That's a risky surgery," Itachi said half-concerned, half-impressed.

A smirk appeared in the corner of the plastic surgeon's mouth. "I assume that's why Hyuuga called the best."

Itachi sighed but there was a smile of amusement playing on his lips and he glanced past his cousin when he caught sight of Sakura. Her back was to him as she read over the surgical board but she turned around when he stood from the chair behind the nurses' desk and called her name.

She smiled when her eyes landed on him. Itachi tried and failed not to remember how comfortable he had been with his arms wrapped around her this morning. He still wasn't exactly sure how they had managed to end up in that position in their sleep but he couldn't bring himself to complain. Well except for perhaps the fact Kakashi had woken them up.

"Hey," Sakura said, looking at him and then Shisui. "I thought I saw you in the ER this morning. How're you doing?"

"Better now that I got to see your beautiful face," he grinned.

Leave it to Shisui to say something entirely inappropriate. Itachi nearly sighed again as Sakura laughed good-naturedly and smiled. Only it didn't quite reach her eyes. Well, that was strange. Itachi had been under the impression she and Shisui were on good terms. Friends even.

"Are you heading into surgery?" Itachi asked, watching her a little closer than before.

Sakura ran a hand through her bangs and shook her head. "No, I just finished an endovascular embolization on a twenty-three week pregnant woman."

"You did?" Shisui asked slightly awed.

"Yeah, she had an intercostal arterial bleed," she explained. "I would have rather opened her up but the pregnancy makes things a little more complicated. I'm hoping the embolization worked but we won't know for a little while."

"In that case do you want to join us for coffee?" Itachi asked.

Sakura didn't immediately answer. Her gaze briefly flickered to Shisui and she opened her mouth but before she could answer, her pager suddenly sounded. Pulling it from her hip, Sakura read the massage only for her entire presence to tense. A sharp curse left her lips and in the next instant, she turned and sprinted down the hall without another word.

As soon as she had disappeared around the corner, Shisui glanced at him. "Well that can't be good. Guess that's a no for coffee. You still want to get one?"

Itachi nodded silently before he joined Shisui as they headed down the hall, his thoughts distant. He got the feeling that Sakura had been about to decline his offer. And not because of him. But because of Shisui.

Had something happened between the two he didn't know about?

##

It was another couple of hours before Itachi saw Sakura again. He had just wrapped up his cases for the night and had intended to slip inside the attendings' lounge to grab a few things from his locker when he saw her. She was sitting on the very couch they had dozed on that morning with her elbows resting on her knees and her head in her hands. She didn't look up at the sound of the door but he could just as clearly see her exhaustion in her body language.

Itachi approached slowly. "Hey."

At the sound of his voice, she picked her head up to look at him before she straightened. "Hey," she parroted with a small, fleeting smile.

"How's your patient?"

Sakura released a long breath before she answered, "She didn't make it," she said quietly. "Naruto did an emergency c-section. He has the baby right now, but I'm waiting for an update before I go talk to the husband."

"I'm sorry," he murmured. And he was. Some cases were easier than others and even after all the death they seen over the course of their job, there were still a few that struck a nerve. He could tell Sakura wasn't unaffected.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Sakura looked up at him again and smiled. It was small - just barely there - but it seemed to lighten her mood, if only a little. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

That single look relieved the small knot of tension he hadn't realized had formed in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know what had happened on her case, but that smile told him she would be okay. Maybe not right now but she would be in time for the next patient.

"Did you still want to get dinner tonight?" Itachi asked.

"Dinner?" Sakura repeated, her brow furrowed in confusion. Then her eyes widened. "Oh no, I completely forgot. I'm so sorry. I just got so wrapped up in this case-"

"It's alright," he said before she could feel too guilty. He couldn't deny he wasn't disappointed but he understood. It was easy to forget the rest of the world when there was someone's life at stake. "You should go home rest when you're done. Shisui asked me earlier about meeting up anyway. Maybe tomorrow night we can go out then?"

Sakura paused briefly before she nodded gratefully. "Yeah, tomorrow is fine. Go spend time with Shisui."

But her words were lacking conviction and his earlier suspicions came to the forefront of his mind again. He wanted to ask but he bit them back. Sakura had had a rough day and it wouldn't be fair to him to bring up something that she might not want to talk about.

Instead, he took a backward step towards the door. "I'll see you in the morning then?"

A small smile was her reply before Itachi turned around.

In all honesty, he had every intention of leaving, of finding Shisui and grabbing dinner so they could catch up. But just as Itachi reached the doorway, he hesitated. Because he knew that no matter how hard he tried, his mind would still drift back to Sakura, wondering what it was that had upset her. If his cousin had said or done something, Itachi wanted to help fix it if he could. His curiosity got the better of him before he could stop himself.

"May I ask you something?" Itachi said, glancing back at her. When Sakura nodded, he turned to face her fully. "Did something happen between you and Shisui?"

To his surprise, her brow furrowed and she shook her head. "No. Why do you ask?"

Her tone was so genuine that Itachi almost wondered if he had imagined the whole thing and he prodded carefully, "It just seemed like you weren't very pleased to see him here."

"I like Shisui. He's an excellent surgeon, and I know he's your family and best friend," Sakura said.

But there was a tone in her voice like there was something more she wasn't saying and he pressed, "But?"

She was quiet a moment, as if she was trying to chose her words carefully. "But the last time he showed up here unannounced, you left for two months and almost didn't come back. I just…" Sakura trailed off slowly and looked away to gaze down at her hands, like she couldn't quite bring herself to met his eye. "I just don't want you to leave again."

Itachi stared, somewhat taken aback. Is that what she thought Shisui was doing here? That he had come to try and persuade Itachi to go home again? He guess he couldn't entirely blame her. For that had been exactly what happened last time. It was suddenly only too clear why she hadn't welcomed Shisui with open arms.

Wordlessly Itachi crossed the room before he lowered himself onto the coffee table to sit directly in front of her. Her eyes were still downcast but she looked at him when he cupped her jaw and angled her face up. There was a shy hopefulness in her eyes that made his chest swell with an emotion he dare not name and he met her gaze evenly. "I'm not going anywhere."

Leaning forward, Itachi pressed his mouth to hers. It was quick but sweet, a silent promise that he meant every words. And it seemed it was just enough, for Sakura was smiling with a pretty blush on her cheeks when he pulled back. It eased some of the sadness that had been looming over her like a dark cloud and for a moment, neither of them moved as Itachi brushed his thumb along her cheekbone.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he told her quietly.

Sakura merely nodded, her smile still lingering, before he stood. Her eyes followed him as he left the room, only turning away after he had slipped out into the hall with a last smile thrown over his shoulder.

She didn't know how long she sat there, feeling better than she had all day. Her heart was full in her chest and in that brief instant in time, it seemed like everything would be okay. But the moment didn't last long and she glanced towards the door when it opened again.

It was Naruto, and judging by his face he was looking for her. "Have you spoken to the husband yet?" he asked.

"No," she said. Then she read his expression and her heart, that had been nearly bursting a moment ago, sank. "The baby didn't make it, did she?"

Naruto shook his head sadly.

Without a word, Sakura looked forward again. She stared unseeingly out the dark window and took a deep breath as she prepared herself to deliver the worst news any person could ever hear. Then she collected her emotions and stood to meet Naruto at the door. "Let's go."

##

Sakura couldn't sleep. Her mind was still running in circles in her head, trying to go over every possible option, every other alternative she could have done that may have changed the events of today. She knew there wasn't anything anyone else could have done, but the little voice in the back of her head kept whispering ' _what-if'_ and the more she tried to push it from her mind, the more it seemed to sit at the forefront.

After tossing and turning in bed for near that of an hour, Sakura gave up. She kicked the covers off and wandered out into the living room. For a little while, she simply cleaned, piling paperwork together and straightening things out. She hoped the physical activity might wear her out enough to sleep but by the time she finished, she didn't feel any less restless.

And so she did what she normally did when she needed a distraction. She turned on the television and flipped through the channels until she found something that vaguely caught her attention. She stopped on a cooking competition and watched on blankly, trying to focus on absolutely anything else. It worked. Sorta. But the minutes ticked by like hours, and she had half a mind to get dressed and go back to the hospital just to do _something_ when a knock suddenly echoed on the front door.

Confused, Sakura glanced at the clock. It was already past midnight. Who would be on her door at this hour? She began to wonder if she was just imagining things when she heard the faint knock again and she muted the television before she stood to answer it. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"Itachi?"

He was still dressed in the jeans and jacket he had been wearing earlier, and Sakura gave him a quick once over only to grow more confused when she saw other than being perhaps a little breathless, he looked completely fine. More than fine. He was downright handsome. And he wasn't even trying.

"What are you doing here?" she asked not unkindly.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," Itachi said, his expression softening. When Sakura shook her head in confusion, he added softly, "I heard the baby died."

She blinked, a little at a loss for words. "You came all the way out here just to check on me?"

He inclined his head. "You sounded upset earlier. I just wanted to make sure you really were alright."

Unable to find her voice, she simply stared at him. But then the tension drained out of her as that same emotion that had filled her to nearly bursting earlier returned. "Yeah, I'm okay," she smiled. "But I'm glad you're here."

Itachi matched her smile before he held a container out to her. "Here. I brought this anyway. Just in case you needed it."

Confused, Sakura took it from him only to find it was cold. Turning the label around, she nearly laughed when she realized what it was. Chocolate ice cream. The very same she had brought him when he had been dejected after a case all those months ago.

And just like that, all Sakura's concerns and anxieties faded, and she bit back a wide grin as she stepped aside, a silent invitation to come in. "Do you wanna stay for a little while? Ice cream is always better when it's shared."

A warm smile spread across Itachi's face before he slipped inside. "I would love to."

_**tbc...** _


	13. Chapter 13

_**Where it Happened  
part xiii** _

"Well you seem to be in a particularly good mood today."

Itachi blinked suddenly and pulled himself out of his thoughts before he glanced at Shisui. His cousin was wiping his name off the surgical board but he turned around when he finished, a smirk on his face. Itachi recognized that look. It was one he had grown up with. The one Shisui usually wore when he had caught Itachi doing something amusing.

However, Itachi merely met his cousin's gaze evenly and shrugged unabashedly. "Is there a reason I should not be?"

"No," Shisui said. "But usually something's happened for you to have that look on your face. Or perhaps someone…"

His not-so-subtle hint was not lost on Itachi and he shot the older man a pointed look. Itachi knew his sudden camaraderie with Sakura hadn't gone unnoticed around the hospital - it wasn't terribly hard to see after the way things had been when he first returned - but no one yet knew exactly how friendly they were. They had only gone out to dinner a few times but they hadn't yet defined exactly what they were doing. It was so casual between them, so easy Itachi wasn't even sure if he would call it 'dating' himself. Sakura was just so easy to talk to.

Pushing himself off the nurses' station, Itachi smirked at his cousin. "I have no idea what you speak of," he said before he continued down the hall.

Immediately Shisui perked up, like a napping dog that just heard the treat bag, and he quickly chased after his younger cousin. "So something is going on with you? Are you seeing someone? Which, by the way, I find unusual for you but honestly the only thing I can think of…" Shisui half said the last part to himself. Then he focused again, "Who is it? Mitarashi? Or perhaps that new doctor. What's her name, Shizune? It isn't Hyuuga Hanabi, is it?"

That last one nearly made Itachi snort and he pressed the call button for the elevator before he faced Shisui. "Hanabi?"

"I know she's young, but I'm not judging."

Itachi didn't even bother justifying that one with a response. He simply slipped into the elevator and pushed the button for his floor, ignoring Shisui as his cousin stepped in beside him and selected his own destination.

"Ok fine, don't tell me," Shisui nearly whined. "But I will find out eventually."

A noncommital noise escaped Itachi as he bit back his smile. He half wondered what Shisui's reaction would be if he knew he had trapped Sakura against the wall outside her condo only two nights ago and kissed her senseless. He was still riding the high. He hoped Sakura was too. They may have not defined their relationship but he was quite content with where they were.

The elevator reached Shisui's floor first. His cousin slipped out with a vague promise to see him later and Itachi picked his head up to nod, only to take a second look when he caught sight of Sakura out of the corner of his eye. A surprising fact given that she had told him she would be out of town for a few days and unable to do surgeon. Though given the business suit she was wearing he supposed she likely didn't have any plans of stepping into an OR anytime soon. Still, he had assumed her flight had left that morning.

Itachi's curiosity only grew when he saw a handful of board members exit a conference room behind her. One stopped to speak to her but he couldn't make out their conversation this far away. Quickly, Itachi held out his hand to stop the elevator doors from closing before he slipped out of the lift.

He reached Sakura just as she wrapped up her conversation. "I was under the impression you had a flight to catch this morning."

"Wow, that desperate to get rid of me?" she asked, her brow cocked. But there was a smile playing on her lips. "And my flight is this morning. You know it is only eight, right?"

Itachi supposed she had a point. Surgeons start work around five in the morning. Sometimes it was easy to forget that it was still 'morning' even hours after they had begun their day. Still, he couldn't deny that he was glad he got to see her one last time before she left.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Itachi asked not unkindly. He eyed another board member as they slipped out of the room with the Chief, their heads bent together as they spoke privately. "It is a little early to be meeting with the board, isn't it?"

Sakura shrugged casually. "It's nothing important. Just a standard meeting to go over numbers, hospital issues, and the usual stuff."

His curiosity grew. "Why would they need your presence for that?"

"Because I'm a member of the board."

Itachi blinked. "You are?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded nonchalantly, her eyes lingering on Tsunade as she disappeared down the hall. When she was gone, Sakura glanced at Itachi. It was then that she recognized his bewilderment for mild surprise flickered across her face. "You didn't know?"

He shook his head, still somewhat stunned as he processed the information.

"Oh...I thought you knew, otherwise I would have told you. I own nineteen percent of the hospital," she told him.

"So that's why you cannot be head of the department," Itachi concluded. It had nothing to do with her skill or age at all. It all made sense now. And just when he thought he was beginning to know Sakura, she turned around and surprised him again.

Sakura smirked. "Oh, believe me, I would love to take your job. And I'd be good at it too. I just don't have time with all my other responsibilities to the hospital."

A low chuckle rumbled in his chest. He knew she would be good at it. She had done it for nearly two months while he had been gone and had excelled. "Well I suppose I had better watch myself. I wouldn't want to give you reason to fire me."

"I only hold one vote and that requires three."

That teasing smile warmed his blood deliciously. At that instant, he wanted nothing more than to drag Sakura into the conference room and kiss her thoroughly, but he was only too aware of where they were and he restrained himself. Barely. This woman would be the death of him. He wondered if she was aware of the effect she was having on him; though judging by the way she was smirking at him, he suspected she did. He was going to return the favor when she got back.

Sakura's smirk widened at the purposeful look he shot her before she glanced down at her phone. "Anyway, I have a flight to catch. I'll see you when I get back?"

"Yes, you will," he promised.

Itachi watched Sakura walk away, only tearing his eyes away from her when she rounded the corner. He could feel his smile still playing in the corner of his mouth but his vanished abruptly when he caught Kakashi's gaze.

The trauma surgeon was standing at a nearby nurses' station with a chart in hand, but his pen was still as he stared at Itachi. Judging by the obvious smirk on Kakashi's face, he had witnessed the entire exchange. Itachi could only assume that he meant he approved of whatever it was they were doing. Itachi doubted Kakashi would have nudged him in Sakura's direction otherwise.

Itachi held Kakashi's gaze a moment longer without a word, his expression blank and unreadable, before he turned away to resume his duties. This new information about Sakura was a bombshell. And yet not that surprising. She had always been a force to be reckoned with within the hospital and now he fully understood why. Beautiful, brilliant and powerful.

Then a sudden thought crossed his mind: Sakura was his boss.

Itachi stopped dead before he released a low chuckle. Well wasn't this quite an interesting development. He was still mulling that over when his phone sounded. He pulled the device out of his pocket only for his brow to arch in surprise when he read the name on the caller ID. Without hesitation, he answered. "Mother, it has been a few days since we last spoke. How are you doing?"

##

There was nothing more Sakura loved than surgery. It had been a major part of her life for so long that she couldn't imagine ever doing anything different, but if her life had turned out another way, she would have wanted to have a career that involved traveling.

There was something about being in another city, not knowing the streets or the looming buildings that towered over head. It gave Sakura a sense of freedom. To wander down unfamiliar roads with no destination in mind. Except maybe to the family-owned coffeehouse across the street that was offering a delicious-looking pastry.

Sakura sat in the corner of the shop by the window as she munched on her muffin. She scrolled through her emails lazily, stopping to reread the one that held all the information for the conference she was attending tomorrow. There would be dozens of world-renowned surgeons speaking and she didn't want to miss any lectures.

Perhaps it was a little nerdy of her to be so excited to sit in a lecture hall again, but judging by the size of the conference, at least she wasn't the only one.

The conference's banquet dinner was tonight. It was still a few hours away but Sakura supposed it was about time she wrapped up her sightseeing and returned to her hotel room to get ready. It wouldn't do well for her to show up exhausted before the party had even begun.

After finishing her muffin, Sakura headed back for a quick nap to chase away the rest of her jetlag before she showered and dressed herself in a powerful but elegant, red evening gown. It was one of her favorites, leaving her shoulders bare and showing off just a small hint of cleavage. The form-fitting dress emphasized her slim figure and wrapped around the swell of her hips before it fell in a wave of fabric to the floor. Her three-inch heels were the only thing keeping the material from dragging.

When Sakura had finished adding the last piece to her outfit - a pair of silver earrings that caught the light and danced like crystal - she stood back and examined herself in the mirror. She wasn't one for dressing up - that was much more of Ino's thing - but she liked doing so every once and awhile. And if she was being honest, she looked good. Perhaps that was a little vain but as her blonde friend had once told her, "If it's true, it's true".

The banquet hall the conference had reserved was already bustling with surgeons when Sakura arrived. She gazed around slowly, looking for any familiar faces in the crowd. Nearby, she recognized Doctor Terumi Mei, a trauma surgeon that had made quite a name for herself in recent years with her work. Sakura was itching to hear her speak tomorrow.

Just beyond her, there were a few other surgeons Sakura would be listening to as well, and she continued to peer about the room until someone spoke her name. Turning her head, she smiled when she recognized none other than Doctor Nara Shikaku, Shikamaru's father.

Sakura was somewhat surprised he remembered her, but she smiled nonetheless and held her hand out towards him. "Doctor Nara, it is good to see you again."

"Please, just Shikaku, Sakura," he said amicably.

Her smile widened. "It's been too long since we first spoke. How are you doing?"

"I'm well," he said. Then he smirked. "Especially since the government just approved my multi-million dollar project to begin mapping the human brain."

Sakura tried not to openly gawk in awe. "You're kidding? Congratulations! That's absolutely amazing. Your discoveries will likely change the way we understand the human brain. I can't wait to read your work."

"Thank you," the older man smiled. "It will likely take us a couple of years before we publish anything but I am looking forward to it." Then his smile faded slightly. "I had always hoped I would work with Shikamaru on this, but he seems to be quite happy with where he is."

"I think so," Sakura agreed. "He seems quite a bit happier now that he's dating Ino. He-."

"He's dating someone?" Shikaku interrupted.

She stilled suddenly, wondering if she had just said something she shouldn't have. It was too late for her to backpedal now and she continued slowly, choosing her words carefully. "Uh...yes, he is."

To her relief, he seemed more surprised than upset. He stared at her for a long time before he released a slow breath. "Shikamaru hasn't dated anyone since his mother died three years ago. He took it pretty hard. I was concerned he wouldn't allow himself to find happiness again. I'm glad to hear that isn't the case."

That news surprised Sakura. She hadn't realized Shikamaru's mother had passed. He had never said anything. Neither had Ino, and Sakura briefly wondered if her blonde friend even knew.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Sakura said semi-vaguely. From their last meeting, she knew Shikaku was currently married. She didn't know if Shikamaru's mother had been his previous wife. It was best she not accidentally pry, and she quickly steered the subject away, "Shikamaru is definitely happy though. Probably the happiest I've ever seen him."

Shikaku flashed her a grateful smile at that. Their conversation turned more light-hearted after that. Sakura told him a little about Ino, which he seemed genuinely interested in, before the topic returned to work as it normally did. At one point, a server came by with a tray full of champagne and she accepted one, drinking from the flute delicately as the conversation flowed.

Sakura was just listening to Shikaku tell an amusing story that had captured the attention of a few other passing surgeons when movement flickered in the corner of her eye. She glanced towards the bar only to still when she caught sight of a pair of obsidian eyes. _Itachi_.

What was he doing here? He hadn't told her he was coming. Concern briefly struck her as she wondered if something had happened back at the hospital, but if it had she would have been called. Which meant he was likely there for personal reasons. Was he speaking at the conference? If he was, why hadn't his name been on the schedule and why didn't he tell her?

Her mind was racing through all these questions and more, but rather than make a beeline for him, Sakura returned her attention to Shikaku. She had obviously missed the punchline for everyone else was laughing, and she smiled politely before she subtly backed out of the conversation.

Itachi was still standing at the bar, still watching her when she approached. "Are you stalking me?" she half-teased, half asked seriously.

"Would you complain if I said, yes?" he smirked.

Sakura shot him an amused smile as she eyed his charcoal suit. He looked absolutely devastating, the expensive material clinging to his lean form and emphasizing his handsome face. That combined with the sexy tilt of his lips did funny things to her insides. She tried not to let it show as she finished her champagne, and she set her flute on the counter for the bartender to refill. When she turned back to him, she half shrugged. "Looking like that, perhaps not."

The subtle smirk on his lips widened before he sipped his own drink. Judging by the glass, Sakura guessed whiskey or perhaps scotch. "As it so happens, I am not stalking you," Itachi answered. "My mother was supposed to speak tomorrow, but something came up that needed her attention. She asked me to step in in her place."

Sakura smiled her thanks at the bartender when he placed a fresh glass down beside her. "Well I hope you didn't leave my hospital without a functioning cardio department."

"Of course not. I have the fellows covering our cases as well as anything that comes in as emergent. The department can last two days without us."

She cocked her brow playfully. "I'm blaming you if something happens."

"Trying to get those other two votes to fire me?" he teased.

"Perhaps," Sakura said, hiding her smile behind her glass.

Itachi smirked at her again, causing her body flush in a pleasant way. She cooled herself by drinking from her flute again, letting the bubbles on her tongue distract from the way he was looking at her.

"I have been considering something since our conversation this morning," Itachi said suddenly. When Sakura eyed him curiously, he continued, "Do you remember the first case you and I worked on?"

She nodded thoughtfully. "The patient with the dissecting aorta. What about it?"

"I threatened to bench you after that case, but I do not have the authority to do so since you are a board member, do I? You were simply humoring me."

"I was trying to be nice," she said with a faint smile.

"I believe you called me an 'ass' in the same conversation."

Sakura blinked. "You heard that?" Were there any nicknames she's called him he hasn't heard?

However, Itachi was smirking again, obviously amused. Then he shrugged. "I suppose I cannot entirely blame you. I may have overstepped a time or two when I first arrived."

"You think?" Sakura laughed. "Well I'm just glad you learned your place. You are not on top of me."

She shot him a playful look before she sipped her champagne. She had meant the words teasingly, perhaps even a little challengingly but it seemed Itachi had taken them a completely different direction for his gaze suddenly turned heated. That single look made her body react in a way that was entirely inappropriate given their current circumstances.

"And if I am not on top of you, where exactly am I, _Sakura_?"

Her name used in that tone should be illegal. The sudden image he had just painted in her head was giving her ideas of leaving here now and dragging him to her hotel room. Or his. She wasn't picky.

The beginning of a flush was creeping up the back of her neck, but before Sakura could reply, they were interrupted then by another attendee - one of Sakura's old teachers from medical school. She took a large drink to calm her racing heart. The last thing she wanted was for someone to realize the not-so-innocent direction her conversation with Itachi had turned.

The topic abruptly flipped after but no matter how hard Sakura tried to concentrate, she couldn't quite shake Itachi's innuendo. Heat was still thrumming through her veins and no matter how many sips of champagne she took, she couldn't quite get her body to cool. A fact only made worse when Itachi caressed the small of her back before he excused himself to go speak with his own friends in attendance.

For the rest of the night, Sakura watched Itachi through the crowd. She didn't mean to, but every time there was a lull in conversation she found herself scanning the large banquet hall for his familiar face. Nearly half the time she found him already watching her. And each time she met his eye, something primal stirred within her.

Like some unknown force was pulling them together, they gravitated towards each other. It was hardly a surprise when Sakura found Itachi waiting for her at the end of the night. She had half a mind to tease him about stalking her again, but she was also inwardly pleased he had chosen to wait for her.

"Well aren't you the gentleman," she smiled as he helped her into her coat.

She caught sight of his smirk before she turned around to let him pull it the rest of the way over her shoulders. His smile was mostly hidden by the time she turned back to him. "Where are you staying?" he asked.

Sakura arched her brow as she wondered the reason behind his question. "I can make it back to my hotel by myself. I didn't drink that much."

"I know you can," he told her honestly. "But I would feel more comfortable escorting you."

She didn't immediately answer as she weighed his answer. They had been seeing each other for only a week now and though they had gone on a few dates, they still hadn't slept together. She briefly wondered if this was his subtle hint that he wanted to keep her company tonight, but she didn't get that feeling from him. He seemed like he genuinely just wanted to make sure she made it back safely.

"I'm staying at the Wentworth," Sakura finally said.

It was a fancier hotel - a fact Itachi seemed to recognize judging by the look of surprise that briefly flickered across his face. Perhaps Sakura had gone a little overboard, especially considering she would be at the conference all day tomorrow, but the grand hotel was well-known for its wide, deep bathtubs and she always enjoyed indulging in a long soak after being out all day.

Like a gentleman, Itachi helped Sakura into an awaiting cab and closed her door for her before he went around the car to slip into the other side. Looking back, she should have known better than to expect he would simply drop her off at the front door with a wish of a good night. Instead he escorted her up to her room, his hand resting comfortably on the small of her back. Which was likely a good thing.

Sakura did her best to hide it, but she was feeling the full effects of the alcohol she had consumed now. She wasn't drunk, but given the three-inch heels she had chosen to wear, she had to actively focus on not tripping. And not how secure and warm Itachi's hand felt.

It was almost a relief when they finally reached her room. Almost because he dropped his hand when Sakura turned to face him. She pulled her room card out of her purse but didn't immediately move to go the door.

"You didn't have to walk me back, but I'm glad you did," she said honestly.

Itachi smiled warmly at that before he stepped towards her. Standing this close, Sakura had to crank her neck to look up at him. His eyes were nearly smouldering and her cheeks flushed when he suddenly reached up to smooth a stray hair, like he couldn't quite bring himself to stop touching her. That thought warmed her soul more than it ever could her body and she wondered momentarily if the butterflies she got in his presence would ever fade. She hoped not.

"I enjoy spending my time with you," Itachi said softly.

Sakura had to remind herself to breathe. "Well I hope so. You only work with me sixty hours a week. I would have figured you'd get bored of me by now."

"I doubt I will ever be bored of you."

She had meant it as a joke, but his seriousness did wonderful, delicious things to her insides. That same heat from before stirred in the pit of her stomach. She was abruptly aware of the rich scent of his cologne. The one she had come to recognize too well, the one she associated purely with him. It mixed with the alcohol raging through her system and tempted her to do things she wasn't quite sure she should be doing yet.

Sakura took a purposeful step back, trying to give herself room to breath. It helped. Barely. "I should get to bed," she said, her voice husky. "We have a long day tomorrow."

Itachi nodded. "I won't keep you."

Their conversation ended there, but neither moved to depart. Like the holding of breath before the plunge.

Then, in one fluid motion, Sakura grabbed him by the tie and kissed him before she pulled him into her hotel room.

She could taste the whiskey on his breath as he kissed her. It was all teeth and tongue as their hands reached for the other, searching for skin and doing whatever was necessary to find it. Her back hit the wall hard as Itachi pinned her against him but Sakura hardly noticed as she clung to him. His hands were warm and strong as they traced the length of her spine, pulling the zipper of her dress down. Sakura made quick work of his own clothes, yanking off his tie and tossing it somewhere off to the side, before her nimble fingers unbuttoned his silk shirt.

Their movements were hasty and desperate, their desires clouding everything else as they worked to reveal every inch of skin. By the time they fell onto the bed, the floor was a mess of haphazardly discarded clothes.

And then everything slowed.

Itachi hovered over her. His arms caged her in and narrowed the world until it was just the two of them. This time when he kissed her, his mouth moved unhurriedly, almost languidly, but not without passion. The weight of his body was welcomed against hers and she held him close, her nails sinking into his muscular back, as his hands caressed every ridge, every dip and every swell of her curves. Sakura wanted more but at the same time felt like she might burst into a million, tiny pieces if he went any faster.

When Itachi finally sank inside of her, it felt like the entire world fell away and sharpened at the same time. Sakura was acutely aware of the strength of his body as he moved over her, the sharp inhale and exhale of his breath as it mingled with her own. He kissed her slow and deep at first, his mouth moving in sync with his thrusts.

It was all so sensual. They were hardly moving at all and yet Sakura was still breathless. She arched beneath Itachi, her legs wrapping around his waist and welcoming him deeper as he pressed soft kisses to her cheeks and nose and chin. She was growing nearly desperate when he finally pulled away to quicken his pace.

A sharp gasp escaped Sakura when he found that perfect angle. Pleasure coiled in the pit of her stomach and it wasn't long before she came undone with a cry of his name on her lips. Itachi finished soon after her with a low groan, his rhythm breaking as every muscle in his body tensed.

When the last waves of his orgasm finally faded, he pulled out of her before he collapsed on the bed beside her. Sakura stared at the ceiling as she fought for breath, her head was spinning. But from what had just happened or the alcohol still simmering in her system she didn't know. Nor did she think on it for too long. She merely rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face into the pillow.

Sakura wasn't sure how long they stayed like that. With the room cast into the silence as they caught their breath. She was just beginning to doze off when Itachi shifted beside her and his fingers swept through her hair. Tiredly Sakura turned her head to look at him. He looked just as exhausted as she felt but there was a content look on his face. She smiled sleepily, her eyes falling closed as he rolled over to press a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. Neither of them spoke when Itachi pulled back. He simply reached for the sheets and tossed them over their cooling bodies before he pulled Sakura into his arms and held her against him.

And as Sakura was falling asleep, the thought vaguely crossed her mind that if this was how she ended her day for the rest of her life...well she would be quite alright with that.

_**to be continued...** _


	14. Chapter 14

**_Where it Happened  
part xiv_ **

Sakura awoke to the feeling of a row of kisses being pressed along her spine. They were soft, feather-light. Just the barest caress of lips against skin. She smiled sleepily, her eyes slipping close once more.

"Good morning," Itachi whispered in her ear before he kissed the back of her neck.

A content hum sounded low in Sakura's throat and she stretched the stiffness out of her limbs before she rolled over to face him. Itachi hovered above her, his weight supported on his forearm. His long hair was sleep-mused and slightly tangled, but seeing him this open and this unguarded only added to his appeal. Even a week since the conference and she doubted she would ever grow tired of waking like this.

"Good morning," Sakura returned.

She pulled him down for a kiss then, their mouths moving unhurriedly. She was perfectly happy having a lazy morning. Who needed to get out of bed when they could just do this all day?

Only before Sakura could give herself too many ideas, Itachi drew back. "We should get up. We're going to be late to the hospital."

A long sigh escaped her. Of course he was right, but his bed was so comfortable and it smelled like him and he was in it. The last thing she wanted to do was get out of it. But they were surgeons and people always needed saving.

"Fine," Sakura eventually said reluctantly.

Itachi smirked like he was reading her mind. He kissed her again and made to get up, only before he could stand, Sakura reached for him and pulled him back down into the sheets. The hospital had been just fine without them for two days. An hour wouldn't hurt anyone.

And that was exactly how Sakura entered the hospital almost exactly one hour after the start of her shift. Itachi arrived beside her, just as late and just as satiated, but he was quickly pulled away as a resident grabbed him for a consult in the ER. He left with a secret smile and a promise to see her later.

This late in the morning - which really was still early by most people's standards - the attendings' lounge was empty. Sakura changed into her scrubs quickly, draping her stethoscope around her neck and clipping her pager onto her pocket before she headed out to make rounds. She bit back a yawn as she entered the cardiac ward. To her relief, the fellow had everything under control. Now she really didn't have any regrets about that morning.

Sakura must have still been smiling for the instant she entered the ER, Kakashi pinned her with a stare. "You're late. And happy." It didn't take him long to connect the dots. "You were with Uchiha."

Her smirk briefly widened before she turned away to gaze at the digital patient board. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, piling her hair up into a messy bun.

The older man made a noise that clearly implied he didn't believe her before he set a cup of coffee down on the counter beside her. How he always knew exactly when she needed caffeine, Sakura didn't know, but she welcomed it all the same.

"You can say it, Sakura," Kakashi told her, his tone equal parts amused and sincere. "I'm glad you two are dating. I'm happy for you."

Well, they were doing a little more than that but she didn't clarify. Instead she smiled at Kakashi. "Thanks. I am too."

And she meant it. It had been so long since she last let someone in she had almost forgotten how it felt to trust someone. Well, she had Ino and Naruto and Kakashi, but it was different when it was someone she was intimate with. She was nervous – so incredibly nervous – but also excited.

"I'll still kill him if he hurts you," Kakashi said pointedly.

A laugh bubbled out of Sakura's mouth. She shook her head good-naturedly but she didn't chide him. Kakashi had had her back for a long time. She didn't expect that to change now that Itachi was in the picture.

Their conversation ended there as the scream of an approaching ambulance sounded outside the emergency room doors. Sakura took one last sip of her coffee before she greeted the trauma at the doors, Kakashi beside her.

After a quick exam, they had discovered the patient needed surgery. A car accident victim with internal injuries. A busy start to the day. Fortunately, all went smoothly and within a few hours, Sakura had wrapped up and scrubbed out. Kakashi had stayed behind to see to the patient's immediate aftercare, leaving her free to head down to the cafeteria to get the breakfast she had missed out on that morning. Still no regrets.

"Morning, forehead."

Sakura smiled when Ino stepped into the elevator next to her. "Morning, pig. How's Shika?"

"He's good," the blonde said. "Been working a lot though. I could hardly get him out of bed this morning."

"Uh huh, I'm sure it's all because of work," Sakura teased. She was only too aware that Ino had moved in with her boyfriend less than two weeks ago. Since then, the blonde had been drinking more coffee and sneaking in more naps when she could.

Ino simply shot her a smirk. "Don't be jealous."

If only she knew just how not jealous Sakura was, but she didn't correct her. Instead Sakura changed the subject as the two women stepped out of the elevator. "Where you headed now?"

Ino glanced at her watch. "Coffee cart. I have about five minutes before my resident finds me with the labs I've been waiting on all morning and I plan to make the most of it."

An amused laugh passed Sakura's lips. She understood that feeling only too well. But her mirth vanished like darkness in a suddenly bright room when the women rounded the corner just in time to see Naruto punch another man directly in the face.

Sakura stood shell-shocked as he hit the floor. It vaguely crossed her mind that she recognized that head of raven hair but she wasn't given much time to process what she was seeing. In an instant Naruto was on top of him, the sounds of struggle loud in the usually semi-quiet waiting room.

As soon as the initial shock faded, Sakura rushed forward. "Knock it off!"

With a firm grasp, she gripped the back of Naruto's scrub shirt and hauled him up. He was still wound up and rearing to go, but she quickly slipped between the two fighting men and forced some distance between them.

"That's enough!" she told Naruto, her voice hard with authority.

The blond was still glaring angrily. Blood oozed from his nose, but he didn't fight her as she pushed him back another few paces.

Sakura didn't bother asking what was going on. In all honesty, it was unlikely it was any different than all the other times all those years ago. Instead she gave the pediatric surgeon a onceover, noting the bruising along his knuckles and the blood that was still actively dripping down his face. "Go get yourself cleaned up," she ordered.

A long, tense moment passed before Naruto finally took a step back on his own and walked away.

Only once he was gone, did Sakura round to face the other man. He was still sprawled on the floor, a deep laceration along his cheekbone. He wiped the blood away from his lip as he met her gaze.

Sasuke.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "And you. What are you doing here?"

##

Sasuke was here.

Itachi had learned of his little brother's arrival from a text message sent by Shisui after rumors of a fight had reached his ears. It didn't take a genius for Itachi to add two and two together. His younger sibling had always had quite the temper. Something Itachi had hoped his time overseas would help him grow out of. It seemed even after all that time, it still hadn't cooled Sasuke's hothead.

The instant Itachi was out of surgery he went to find his brother. He was in a first floor examining room with Shisui, sitting on the patient table in a black shirt, his jacket draped across the sanitary paper behind him. Sasuke met Itachi's gaze the moment he entered the room.

It had been a year since the last time he saw his brother face-to-face and yet Sasuke looked just the same from his dark, spiky hair to that even-present frown. He looked like he had something to say but he held his tongue as Shisui slipped a numbing needle into the gash on his check.

The room was silent as Shisui prepped the tools he needed. Even from here, Itachi could see the wound needed a few stitches but Sasuke looked alright otherwise. Itachi just hoped whoever his brother had brawled with was in better shape. The last thing Itachi wanted was for his relationship with his brother to reflect badly upon the hospital.

Only once Shisui began suturing did Itachi finally speak, "Fighting, Sasuke?"

"It was personal."

Itachi shot him a look that clearly relayed his disapproval. Silently he leaned back against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest as he silently watched Shisui stitch the laceration closed with perfect, practiced ease. If Sasuke was lucky, it would only leave a trace of a scar.

The room was utterly silent as Shisui worked. Sasuke watched Itachi while Itachi studied their cousin's work. Only once Shisui began putting his tools away did Itachi break the silence. "What are you doing here, Sasuke?"

"I should be asking you that."

"I work here."

His answer only made his brother scowl. "Since when? You have a hospital back home, an entire cardiac department, so what are you doing here?"

Itachi didn't immediately answer and Sasuke turned to Shisui for answers but he didn't speak either.

"What?" Sasuke asked. "What is it that I'm missing?"

Itachi took a deep breath before he exhaled slowly. "I left home, Sasuke."

His brother's eyes widened. "What? Why? What about mom and dad? What happened with-?"

"It is none of your business," Itachi interrupted.

"Actually, it is," Sasuke retorted. "It's my family too and I deserve to know what happened. You don't get to just leave-"

"But you do?"

Sasuke snapped his mouth shut but continued to glower. He glanced at Shisui again but their cousin was standing on the far side of the room, his expression uncharacteristically blank as he did his best to be a fly on the wall. Finding no help there, Sasuke turned back to Itachi. "Can't you just talk to me instead of brushing you off like you always do?"

Itachi expelled a deep breath. He knew his brother felt betrayed and hurt. Growing up, Itachi had unintentionally pushed Sasuke to the wayside to focus on his own ambitions. He had meant to protect Sasuke from their father's impossible standards and unrelenting demands, and by doing so had kept Sasuke at an arm's reach.

In the back of his mind, Itachi understood that Sasuke's push to leave had partially been his fault. His brother had only ever seen himself as a shadow, a second who hadn't quite measured up. Itachi had never blamed Sasuke for leaving to study abroad with Doctor Orochimaru. But even under all the weight of his guilt and remorse, Itachi would not bend to Sasuke. Not on this matter.

"We can talk," Itachi nodded. "But I am not going to argue with you. My decision is final. I am staying."

Sasuke looked like he had never wanted to argue more in his life but for once he kept his mouth shut. It seemed his time away had matured him. If only a little. Perhaps just this once, Itachi could be a little honest with his little brother.

##

Sakura found Naruto alone in the courtyard that afternoon. He was sitting by himself, half hidden behind a corner with his back pressed against the wall and his legs stretched out before him. He had an ice pack over his knuckles and his eyes were unfocused as he gazed at something she couldn't see.

When Sakura stopped beside him, he looked up. For a long moment neither of them spoke as she gazed down at him. At least the blood had been cleaned from his nose. Miraculously there didn't seem to even be any bruising.

"How's your hand?" she asked, lowering herself to the ground beside him.

Naruto removed the blue, frozen bag from his knuckles to reveal the red and purples welts. "Just bruised. X-ray showed there weren't any fractures."

A frown crossed her lips as she examined the injury. "You got lucky."

Unsurprisingly Naruto didn't say anything. Just sighed and looked forward again.

"You going to tell me what that was about?" she pressed. When he still didn't offer her a reply, she shot him a pointed look. "You're lucky the waiting room was empty, Naruto. But I have to write up an incident report for legal. I have to tell the lawyers something."

"It was the same thing it's always been about," Naruto nearly scoffed. "Even after all these years, he's still an asshole."

Sakura resisted the urge to sigh. She understood his frustrations. They had all been friends. Once. Ever since day one, Sasuke had been arrogant, haughty and abrasive but they had accepted him for who he was. Until he decided he was too good, too _smart_ for them.

Sakura had learned to ignore Sasuke easy enough, but he and Naruto had been close. Sakura still wasn't entirely sure what had happened between them. All she knew was she had come home one night to hers and Naruto's shared apartment and found the pair in an even bloodier fight than the one today. As far as issues went, they definitely had their share.

"You can't just go punching him, Naruto," Sakura said softly. "I get that he's a bastard and if I had it my way, I'd probably punch him too, but you're a surgeon. You're supposed to be a healer."

A long sigh passed his lips before he glanced at her. "I know. I'm sorry. Tell legal whatever you need to. I'll talk to the lawyers if they want."

That wasn't quite the answer Sakura was looking for but she supposed that would have to be good enough for now. "Alright," she said standing. Before she left, she shot a pointed look towards his hand. "Take care of that thing. It's expensive."

Naruto finally cracked a smile at that before he waved her off. A silent promise to keep his hands to himself.

Sakura crossed the courtyard and headed back into the hospital the way she had come. She opened the door leading inside. Only to draw to an abrupt stop when she found herself face to face with Sasuke. Automatically her eyes narrowed, her gaze lingering on the stitches cut along his cheekbone. Naruto certainly had hit him hard, hadn't he. Good.

"Can I help you?" Sakura asked coolly.

His eyes briefly flickered past her shoulder. "Is he out here?"

"That depends."

Sasuke had always been taller than her and he looked down upon her now but she didn't move an inch. Eventually he scoffed. "I'm not going to fight. I just want to talk to him."

"Coming from you, that's pretty much the same thing."

The look of annoyance he shot her was the very same she had come to recognize. She bit back her self-satisfied smile before she finally stepped aside. Not a lot but enough to let him slip by. Sasuke said nothing before he headed towards the corner where Naruto sat.

Sakura watched them a moment before she turned away. She had other things to do. Like write up that damn report. Even years later, she was still cleaning up their mess.

##

Itachi found Sakura some hours later in the large office reserved for the Cardiology department. She was sitting behind a computer but her head was tilted back as she rested her eyes. She didn't even open her eyes as he slipped into the chair beside her.

"Long day?" Itachi asked.

"Mm…" she hummed. "Not great. Not horrible. Though Naruto getting into a fight didn't help any."

"That's who Sasuke fought?"

Sakura picked her head up then to look at him curiously. "You know Sasuke?"

Itachi nodded. "He's my younger brother."

Her expression turned bewildered at that. No wonder she hadn't liked Itachi when they had first met. It suddenly occurred to her that they both gave off a similar vibe. Though while Sasuke's was arrogant like he knew he was intelligent and no one else could measure up, Itachi's was more subdued. More confident than haughty.

"You didn't know?" Itachi asked, mildly surprised.

She shook her head. "You've never talked about him. I mean I assumed you were related with the last name and all. I guess I just had sorta hoped you were distant relatives or something."

By her tone, it was obvious she didn't care too much for his brother. Not that Itachi was surprised. Sasuke had a way of rubbing people the wrong way. "How do you know Sasuke?" Itachi asked, suddenly curious. He hadn't been aware she was acquainted with his sibling.

"We went to med school together. We were all friends: him, Naruto and me. Until...I don't know," she shrugged. "I placed first in our class and after that…well I don't think he cared for me very much."

The corner of his mouth twitched in the barest of smirks. "I cannot say I am entirely surprised. Sasuke has always been threatened by those who rival his intelligence."

"And you aren't?" Sakura asked, her tone teasing.

There was a playful spark in her green eyes that stirred something in the pit of his stomach. His mind filled with thoughts that were entirely inappropriate to be had given they were still in the hospital. Itachi shifted in his chair to lean closer, a promising smirk curling in the corner of his mouth. "I find it wholly attractive."

Something shifted behind her gaze. He didn't have to ask to already know that she was remembering them in bed that morning – or perhaps she was recalling last night. Either way, she shot him a meaningful look before she laughed. "You are too much sometimes."

He had half a mind to remind her that she had been the one that had made them late but decided against it. Instead he simply chuckled. "Are you on-call tonight?" he asked, changing the subject.

Sakura shook her head. "No, why?"

"Do you want to grab a bottle of wine and have dinner at my place?"

A smile spread across her face. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Any preference on red or white?"

"Red," Itachi told her, already planning the meal in his head. Then he stood. "Text me when you're done for the day?"

Sakura nodded. She tracked him with her eyes when he stepped directly in front of her chair and waited, not entirely sure what he was doing. He made his intentions clear when he rested his hands on the arms of her chair before he bent and pressed his mouth to hers. It was short but sweet. And familiar. Like he had done it a thousand times before.

When Itachi pulled back, Sakura couldn't resist grabbing the front of his scrub top and pulling him back down for a moment longer. He smirked against her lips before he deepened the kiss, forcing her head back further as he tasted her.

That's when the door banged open. "Itachi-"

They broke away abruptly to find Sasuke nearly gaping. His eyes narrowed and flickered between the two of them. "You two are seeing each other? Is this why you moved out here?"

Itachi straightened before he stepped away from Sakura, putting a respectable distance between them. "Of course not. I came for a job."

"Yeah, I can see that," his younger brother replied, shooting a pointed look at Sakura. She merely stared right back, her face unreadable.

It was apparent there was more Sasuke wanted to say but before he could continue, a knock sounded on the open door. It was a hospital lawyer. The middle-aged man glanced first at the two brothers, obviously wondering if he were interrupting something. When no one spoke, he turned to Sakura, "Doctor Haruno, we're ready to review your incident report."

She nodded before she stood. "Let's go then."

Then she slipped out of the room with only a brief glance in Itachi's direction. He watched her go, already putting the pieces together.

When Itachi turned back to his brother, Sasuke was still frowning. "Are you really seeing her?"

"I am."

"And mom and dad are okay with this?"

Itachi shot him a look. "This is none of their concern. And neither is it yours."

The expression that passed Sasuke's face could only be described as incredulous. "You can't be serious. She-"

"I won't hear a word against her, Sasuke," he told his brother sternly. "She has spent a great deal of her day cleaning up your mess. You do not get to speak poorly of her."

Sasuke's frown deepened but he didn't deny it. "What about back home? You have other obligations, or did you forget that?"

A long moment passed as Itachi considered his next words carefully. "I have handled everything back home. There is nothing left for me there."

His brother blinked, taken aback. He opened his mouth but Itachi quickly interrupted. "We're done here, Sasuke. I live here now."

Sasuke frowned, like he had so much more to say. Itachi understood his brother's frustrations but he would no longer live under someone else's rules and expectations. And Sasuke would do well to do the same.

Reaching out, Itachi ruffled his brother's hair, something he used to do when they were younger. It had been years since the last time Itachi had done so, but it still comforted Sasuke all the same. His shoulder relaxed and the scowl faded from his face.

"You should go home, Sasuke," Itachi said.

Sasuke released a long sigh but didn't argue before he finally turned away. Itachi remained in the doorway as he watched his brother walk away. A low feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, but he couldn't quite tell if it was guilt or something else entirely. He had always been there for his brother but it was time he focused on himself. This was his life and he was going to live it the way he wanted. Finally.

**_to be continued..._ **


	15. Chapter 15

_**Where it Happened  
part xv** _

Sakura shut off the faucet, casting the scrub room into silence. Eyes lingering on the OR, she shook the excess water from her hands before she reached for a towel. The surgical nurses went about their business on the other side of the glass, but Sakura barely saw them, her mind a million miles away.

There was still so much she had to do that morning. A valve replacement was next on her list, followed by a consult with a lung transplant recipient and then a meeting with Naruto to review an infant patient with a hole in their heart. And this was all before noon.

The coffee cart was Sakura's first stop. She collected herself a mocha with an extra shot before she swung by the cardiac ward to get an update on her patients. The charge nurse briefed her thoroughly only pausing when a resident approached with labs.

"Thanks," Sakura said. She accepted them but waited for her nurse to finished before she turned her attention to the report. With a practiced eye, Sakura studied the info, paperwork in one hand and coffee in the other. A frown crossed her face. "Are these accurate?" she asked the resident.

The younger doctor nodded. "I just picked them up from the lab."

Sakura examined the information again before handing the labs back to the resident. "Their platelet count is too low. Set the patient up with a transfusion and send their workup to the lab again. Page me when you get the results."

"Yes, doctor."

Sakura sipped from her coffee as she watched the resident hurry to carry out her orders. The younger doctor was barely halfway down the hall when the unusual sound of girlish giggles drew Sakura's attention.

It was from a pair of nurses standing by a nearby medicine cart. They were gossiping amongst themselves, their heads bent together and their eyes directed down the hall. Curiously Sakura followed whatever it was that had caught their attention only for her coffee to still halfway to her lips when she realized it was Itachi. He was at the nurses' station down the hall. With a toddler in his arms.

The little girl was only about two years old, sucking on a pacifier as she clung to the front of Itachi's scrub shirt. He held her steady with one arm tucked under her chubby legs while he flipped through patient info with the other hand.

Sakura smirked. Oh, how could she possibly resist this?

"Is it 'bring your daughter to work' day and no one told me?" she asked, sidling up to him.

Itachi paused in his reading to shoot her a flat look. "Very funny."

Sakura laughed at her own joke before her attention turned to the toddler as the little girl reached for the stethoscope around her neck. Adjusting her hold on her coffee, Sakura held the piece of equipment out for the child. She smiled when the toddler pulled on the rubber ends with innocent curiosity.

"You know it's hardly fair to all the women in the hospital," Sakura said, her eyes briefly flickering up to meet Itachi's. When he cocked his brow curiously, she explained, "Hot man-candy with a baby. I'm surprised the ER isn't filling up with exploding ovaries."

A downright devilish smirk crossed Itachi's face. Sakura just laughed before her gaze returned to the little girl when she waved the stethoscope enthusiastically. "She is the daughter of one of my patients," Itachi explained. "They needed a moment to discuss their options so I offered to watch her."

Sakura hummed noncommittally as she set her coffee down to turn her full attention to the child. She really was adorable as far as babies went. Sakura couldn't resist playing with her a little as she squirmed in Itachi's arms.

"Do you want to hold her?" Itachi asked suddenly.

Surprised, Sakura looked up at him before she quickly shook her head. "No, that's okay."

"Why? Do you have something against children?" he teased.

"Nothing against children," Sakura said seriously, taking her stethoscope back. The little girl then reached for her hospital badge and Sakura held it out for her to look at. "After my father died, my mom fell into a depression. She died a few years after that. Tsunade took care of me after her passing but she was a new attending and she wasn't around too terribly much. I don't blame her but I can't say I've really had a role model. I'd be a terrible mother."

Itachi was openly staring at her when Sakura glanced up again. Immediately she realized what she had just done.

"Sorry," Sakura apologized. "I didn't mean to soul dump on you like that."

"No, it's okay," Itachi said. He adjusted his grip on the little girl as he turned to face Sakura more fully. "I just hadn't realized the Chief was your adopted mother."

"I try to keep that on a more need-to-know basis," she told him. "Our relationship became more complicated after I bought a percentage of the hospital. If people here knew she was my adopted mother, the rumors would fly."

Itachi nodded in understanding. He knew what it was like to have parents in a position of power only too well. But it wasn't that news that made him stare at her just a little too long. Sakura had only spoken of her past one other time and that had been with quite a bit of prompt. It warmed him that she trusted him enough to share her personal life.

"I'm sorry to hear about your biological mother," Itachi said honestly.

Sakura smiled faintly. "Thanks."

Their conversation lulled there but the mood was not uncomfortable by any means. Itachi watched Sakura as she entertained the toddler a little longer. It was mesmerizing. _She_ was mesmerizing. She may have teased him that it was unfair for him to walk around with a baby in his arms but seeing her interact with the little girl filled him with an emotion he wasn't ready to acknowledge quite yet. Or perhaps he was.

It was a little disappointing when Sakura finally looked up at him again. "Anyway, I need to get back to work. Busy morning." She picked up her coffee before she waved at the little girl. "Bye, baby."

The little girl reached for Sakura as she stepped away, forcing Itachi to readjust his hold. His eyes never left her. "Sakura," he called before she could get too far. When she glanced back at him expectantly, he smiled just enough for her to see. "You'll make a great mother."

She visibly stilled. A little lost at what to say. In the end, she just smiled back before she left.

Her mind was still replaying Itachi's parting words when her pager went off some minutes later. Shaking herself, Sakura pulled the device from her pocket and read the short message. She was needed in the ER.

Swinging by the nurses' desk, Sakura asked the nurse to push her valve replacement back before she headed down to the pit. Outside, an ambulance was pulling up. Two paramedics jumped out.

"What do we have?" Sakura asked, slipping her gloves on.

"Thirty-five year old male," one of the medics told her. He opened the back of the rig and began helping his fellow responders pull the stretcher out. "He has shortness of breath and his pulse is rapid and irregular."

The instant the stretcher was on the ground, Sakura's eyes widened. "Kankuro?"

"He had a syncopal episode," another said, stepping out of the back of the rig.

 _She knew that voice._ Like a bucket of water had just been dumped over her head, the blood in her veins turned to ice, chilling her very soul. Gaara was here. Standing before her like it had only been yesterday he had left. His red hair was pushed back and away from his face from raking his fingers through his hair stressfully - a habit she hated she knew.

With nowhere to hide from that painfully familiar gaze, Sakura froze. All feeling, all thought vanished. She was a statue. Carved from ice and stuck in a single moment of time.

"Dr. Haruno?"

Ripping her eyes away, Sakura forced herself to focus. Kankuro was her primary concern now. His heart rate and blood pressure were dangerously low. Especially for someone like him who had such a weak heart. "What did he get in the field?" she asked.

"Forty of Furosemide. We gave him six of adenosine but his rhythm didn't change," the paramedic told her as they hurried into the ER. Gaara followed quickly, their older sister, Temari, close behind.

With all the nurses and doctors, the trauma room quickly became crowded. In the center of it all was Kankuro, lying motionless on the gurney and wholly unconscious. His only signs of life were from the various machines tracking the functions of his body.

Hanabi glanced at the monitor as it beeped again. "His vitals are all over the place."

"What's going on?" Temari demanded, the barest hint of a waver in the strong woman's voice.

Sakura didn't immediately answer as a nurse handed her the results of the EKG. She studied them carefully. "He's in heart failure."

Beside Gaara, Temari's eyes widened fearfully. "Can you give him Bisoprolol? It can reduce the chance of mortality. Or ace inhibitors? And digoxin."

The blond woman was spouting off drugs as fast as she could think. Which was impressive given Temari didn't even have a medical degree. She must have done quite a bit of research after learning of her brother's failing heart.

"Slow down, Temari," Sakura said calmly. "His condition isn't great but he's not deteriorating right now."

The older woman had never looked so helpless. "There has to be more you can do for him."

"I don't want to do anything that will put more strain on his heart at the moment. For now, we'll get him up to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and see if his heart stabilizes."

"And if not?" Gaara asked.

It was the first time he had spoken since he had stepped out of the ambulance. Sakura glanced at him, her emotions reigned in so tight it hurt to breathe. She didn't betray any of this when she spoke, "Then we will discuss other options."

Over the course of the next hour, Sakura and her cardio team moved Kankuro upstairs. She monitored him closely, ordering her residents to run every necessary test and lab.

As she stood in that hospital room, a sense of déjà vu came over her. They had been here before. A long time ago. Before Gaara had packed up and left her behind - the best thing he could have ever done for her. Back then, Kankuro had been her patient. He was a good man with a bad heart and she had watched the months turn to years as he waited his turn on the transplant list.

After his brother had quit the hospital, Kankuro had stopped coming to see her. Stopped answering her phone calls. Sakura had tried reaching out to him, only to learn that he had turned to another doctor to oversee his care. She had gotten that message loud and clear.

Looking at him now, it seemed the years had been unkind to Kankuro. His skin was pale and the dark brown locks he used to keep short had grown to hang in his eyes. If his appearance was anything to go by, he seemed to be a man on the verge of giving up. Deadly, for anyone in his position.

Another hour passed before Kankuro regained consciousness. He groaned low, drawing Sakura's gaze from his chart. She looked at him first and then his vitals to ensure they were remaining steady.

"How are you feeling, Kankuro?" she asked.

His eyes focused on her slowly. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Sakura didn't outwardly react. They had been friends once, but it seemed time had warped those bonds until they were bent and no longer even an echo of what they had been before. "You were brought to the hospital," she answered calmly. "You suffered from an acute drop in blood pressure, causing a significant strain on your heart. Your vitals are stable for now but…"

"But I need a new heart," he finished for her.

She nodded. "Sooner rather than later."

Kankuro didn't answer as his gaze fell off to the side. He seemed content to end their conversation there but there was more information Sakura needed.

"Kankuro, I know you're aware of my history with your brother and I know that I am likely the last person you want to see. But right now, your health is my only concern. I need to know what you were doing when the episode started." When he remained silent, she pressed gently, "Are you on drugs again?"

His response was a quiet scoff, but when Sakura continued to watch him, he shot her a look. "Of course not."

"I've already run a tox screen," she told him softly. "I'll have the results soon so you can tell me now or I can find out within the next hour-"

"I said no. I don't do that shit anymore," Kankuro interrupted sharply. Then he sighed heavily, his short burst of anger fading as quickly as it had come. "I'd lose my spot on the transplant list if I relapsed."

Sakura didn't press further. She wanted to believe him but they had been through this song and dance before. Only a tox screen at this point would convince her otherwise.

A fact Kankuro seemed to understand for he added, "We were about to leave for breakfast. I was getting my coat on when I suddenly couldn't breathe."

"And you didn't have any other symptoms before then?" she asked. Even before he opened his mouth, Sakura could see his lie forming. She was going to have to pull every answer out of him. "Kankuro, I'm trying to help you."

He took his time finding his words. "It started last night."

"The shortness of breath and chest tightness?"

After he nodded, Sakura didn't bother asking why he didn't go straight to the hospital. Neither of his siblings lived within driving distance. And Kankuro had always tried his best to keep his health from them. Including how bad his heart truly was. There was nothing more he would tell her that she couldn't learn from his labs.

"Alright," Sakura said eventually. "I will go update Gaara and Temari on your condition. The nurses are around if you need anything."

Kankuro didn't even acknowledge her before she left.

Stopping at the nurses' desk, Sakura dropped off Kankuro's chart. Then she simply stood there. Without all the surrounding madness and adrenaline to distract her, she became only too aware of her nerves. She knew she had to go update Kankuro's siblings. But the mere thought of facing Gaara made her heart drop into her stomach.

Pressing her face into her hands, Sakura reminded herself to inhale and exhale. And then inhale again. She could do this. Couldn't she?

The instant Sakura entered the waiting room, Temari and Gaara were on their feet. "How is he?" the blond woman nearly demanded.

"His heart began beating too fast," Sakura told her. "We had to shock him twice to get his heart rate under control but his vitals are holding steady now. He woke up a few minutes ago."

"Oh, thank God," Temari heaved. The tension physically drained out of her like all her anxieties had been expelled in that single breath. Some seconds passed before she composed herself. "Can I see him?"

"Of course," Sakura nodded.

Without pause, she brushed past Sakura and hurried towards the Cardiac ward. Gaara remained behind. His eyes burned a hole into the side of her head. Only once Temari was gone did Sakura finally look at him.

That face she had once considered so handsome was now passive. Sakura had once thought she could read him so easily but standing here now she realized just how naive she had been. His face may be familiar but she didn't know the man behind it. She doubted anyone truly did.

For a single moment in time that seemed to last an eternity, neither of them spoke. Sakura waited stiffly, the muscles in her back tensing until they ached. All it took was one word, one wrong move and her fight or flight instincts would overcome her.

"How long will he remain stable?" Gaara eventually asked.

His question started her, like noise in a deathly silent room. Sakura didn't know if she was more relieved or apprehensive he hadn't brought up their past. Either way, she didn't dare speak of it. Not here. Not within this hospital.

"You know there's no way I can know that," she said monotonously. "But he is at the top of the transplant list. He'll get a new heart soon."

As a neurosurgeon, she knew he was acutely aware they could never know when their patients may turn for better or worse. So what was the point in asking her?

There was no answer in his face. Not that she was expecting one. Gaara simply nodded, his eyes never wavering from hers. "Thank you, Sakura."

He said nothing else before he followed after Temari.

Alone, Sakura exhaled unevenly. She looked down at her hands to find them shaking. She balled them into fists, trying to get herself under control. Only the more she concentrated, the more her entire body trembled until she was shaking down to her very core.

She needed to get off this floor.

Turning on her heels, Sakura left the waiting room in the opposite direction. She navigated the halls of the hospital blindly and slipped inside the nearest stairwell. She didn't even know where she was going. Only knew that she needed to put as much distance between herself and the Cardiac Ward as possible. Her footsteps echoed against the concrete as she descended hastily, the sound harsh and hollow in her ears.

Three flights down, Sakura slammed into another as they entered the stairwell. "Whoa, sorry," they apologized, gripping her arms to keep her upright.

Sakura kept her head down and waved them off, intending to make a break for it. Only before she could move, their grasp tightened. "Sakura? Hey, what's wrong?"

It was then that she recognized Kakashi. For the first time since Gaara had stepped out of that ambulance she felt safe. Emotion consumed her. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

Kakashi's expression shifted from surprised to concerned in an instant. "Come with me," he said.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her out of the stairwell. He steered her to the nearest conference room and ushered her inside before he locked the door and pulled the blinds. When he turned around, Sakura could hardly breathe.

"He's here," she choked out. "He's here and he's acting like nothing ever happened. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't think that I...I just-I can't do this again."

"Sakura, look at me," Kakashi said calmly. She was on the verge of hyperventilating. His hands went to her jaw, urging her to meet his gaze. "Just breathe. All you have to do is breathe."

He was like safety in a storm, blocking out the hurricane and bringing her down from her high. Everything slowed and quieted. Until it was just the sound of her breath trying to match his deep, measured inhales.

Even after the worst of her panic faded, Kakashi remained with her. His hands rubbed up and down her arms soothingly while Sakura gripped his scrub shirt, more for comfort than support but the material remained wrinkled where her fingers had clutched it like it was her only lifeline a few minutes earlier.

Eventually he led her towards the couch in the corner where he settled beside her. "Now tell me, who is here?" Kakashi pried gently.

With elbows on her knees, Sakura rested her head in her hand. "Gaara."

Just saying his name aloud was nearly enough to bring her to tears again. She inhaled and exhaled unevenly, willing the brunt of her emotions to remain at bay.

Beside her, Kakashi grew suddenly still, his voice taking on a darker tone. "What is he doing here?"

"Kankuro was admitted to the hospital this morning," she told him. "His heart is failing."

"Can you transfer him to another hospital?"

Raking a hand through her hair, Sakura scoffed quietly. "You know I can't do that. He's not stable enough. And even if he was, it would raise too many questions."

"What about Uchiha? Can he take over the case?" Kakashi asked.

She didn't immediately answer. Her stomach twisted into sharp knots until she didn't know if she was going to cry again or puke. Right now, it felt like both.

"The last thing I want is for Itachi to have anything to do with him," she said quietly. "The best thing I can do right now is find Kankuro a heart and get him out of this hospital."

Kakashi frowned but fortunately didn't argue. Silence passed between them. Heavy and thick like an impending storm was approaching. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft but strong. So strong. "You won't be alone this time, Sakura. I'm right here."

Here, in this little room, Sakura believed him wholeheartedly. And the barest hint of a smile passed her lips. She knew Kakashi would always have her back. She only hoped that when she emerged from behind the closed blinds and locked door, she could remember that.

_**to be continued...** _


	16. Chapter 16

_**Where it Happened  
part xvi** _

Dawn broke just as Itachi arrived at the hospital. He pulled into in his normal space only to find Sakura's car was already in her spot, two stalls down from him. She had beat him and by a number of hours, judging by the dew that clung to her vehicle. Times like these he did not envy her position on the board.

Inside, the hospital was still waking up for the day. There was activity but it was not nearly the rush that it would be in a few hours. Just enough time for Itachi to check in on his patients before the ER and operating rooms began filling up.

Shisui was already in the elevator when the doors opened. Itachi greeted his cousin and settled beside him, both heading to the same place.

For a few floors, the ride was quiet. Then Shisui prodded, "So when were you going to tell me you're dating Sakura?"

"Where did you hear that?" Itachi asked, his voice void of inflection.

A pointed look crossed the plastic surgeon's face. "Sasuke. After he apparently walked in on you two."

"I don't know what he told you, but it was nothing like that."

Shisui snorted softly. "Well he hadn't meant it that way, but now I'm curious. You and Sakura are that familiar already?"

A moment too late, Itachi realized his cousin had been joking. Shisui's eyes widened. "You two are sleeping together?"

Fortunately for Itachi, the elevator slowed to a stop at that moment to let a few nurses on. He didn't offer his cousin a reply as the lift moved again. Merely watched the numbers above the doors count up.

"You can't just tell me nothing." Shisui pressed half-teasing, half-serious. "How long has this been going on?"

Itachi glanced at the nurses again, relieved to find they were too immersed in their conversation to pay attention to his and Shisui's. He sighed mutedly before relenting, "About two weeks."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Again, Itachi didn't answer.

"Oh…" Shisui said, understanding dawning on him. The playful tilt of his lips faded as his expression softened. "You know you don't have to feel guilty, Itachi. You deserve this. Sakura is good for you. Definitely improves your mood, that's for sure."

The look Itachi shot his cousin was enough to make the older man laugh again. Itachi didn't know how Shisui did it, but he always made him feel better. Even with just a few simple words.

Itachi could admit that Shisui was right. His mood had been quite sour for a long time, even after he had moved. Perhaps that was why Sakura hadn't liked him very much at first. Perhaps it had been her lack of modesty about it that had finally snapped him out of it. She had been a breath of fresh air in stale room.

"So what's the deal with her and Sasuke?" Shisui asked, knowing Itachi was unlikely to elaborate any further. For now at least. Shisui lived here now too. He still had plenty of time to corner Itachi about his relationship with Sakura later.

"They were friends in med school," Itachi explained as the lift reached their floor. They stepped out together and headed towards the attendings' lounge.

"Were?" Shisui repeated. "Let me guess, Sasuke's charming personality ruined that."

"Sakura didn't tell me the whole story, but I do believe it was an argument of some sort."

"She didn't tell you? Why not-? You know what, I don't wanna know," Shisui interrupted himself. As if it occurred to him that they had likely become too preoccupied during their conversation for her to elaborate further. He ignored Itachi's smirk. "What was Sasuke doing here anyway?"

As they entered the lounge, Itachi slipped his jacket off and hung it on the hook in the back of his locker. "Sasuke went to go learn under Dr. Orochimaru in the Middle East. Apparently his teacher is a friend of Chief Tsunade's. Sasuke came to deliver something to her."

"Well isn't that a coincidence," Shisui said, yanking on his scrub top.

"I think it was less coincidence and more he spoke with mom and she mentioned I was here. Though, I do not think Sasuke understood she meant I had moved permanently," Itachi explained.

"You think he's going to let it go?"

Itachi considered this as he changed into his own scrubs. "Knowing Sasuke, unlikely. But he has always been a lot of bark and no bite."

"Like a chihuahua."

They laughed at that before they collected the rest of their things and headed out to begin their day.

Down on the surgical floor, there was a small commotion. Nearly every Department Head was present. At first Itachi wondered if there was a mass casualty but the air seemed to be full of quiet excitement rather than tense anticipation. Beside him, Shisui seemed equally confused and they gazed around curiously to see what it was that had drawn so much attention. It wasn't until the crowd parted that saw the buzz seemed to stem from a single person.

Blinking, Itachi recognized him as Sunano Gaara. A world renowned Neurosurgeon. He had been on the shortlist for the Uchiha Foundation Award a number of times but they had never met face-to-face. No one had mentioned that such a highly-regarded surgeon was coming to the hospital. Perhaps this was why Sakura had arrived so early this morning.

"Is that Doctor Sunano Gaara?" Shisui asked.

Itachi glanced at his cousin, only to find the question hadn't been directed at him. But rather Kakashi who had appeared beside them. His attention was focused solely upon updating the surgical board, but he glanced at Shisui before he followed his gaze across the room.

"The one and only," Kakashi said before he returned to the board.

But that didn't sounded like a compliment, Itachi noticed. Shisui didn't.

"I wonder what he's doing here," Shisui said more to himself. "He's one of the best Neurosurgeons in the country. I'd love to meet him."

Itachi watched Kakashi a moment longer but the trauma surgeon just continued to write on the board, his back to the room. When Itachi returned his attention to Gaara, he found Neji had joined the talented surgeon.

Their heads were bent together as they viewed a chart. Their voices low in private conversation as they began walking down the hall in their direction. The pair of Neurosurgeons stopped in front of the surgical board.

"If you're available this afternoon, I would love to discuss this further with you," Neji said. He briefly glanced at his beeping paper before he flipped the chart closed.

Gaara nodded. "Of course. I will find you later."

With that settled, Neji left.

Gaara eyed the board. His gaze studying Kakashi as he erased one finished surgery and entered the next. The neurosurgeon was quiet. Then he glanced at Itachi, recognition flickering across his face. "Doctor Uchiha, isn't it? I'm pleased to finally meet you," Gaara said, holding out his hand in greeting. "I read your work on Endovascular Stent grafting of the Thoracic Aorta last year and was quite impressed."

"Thank you," Itachi replied, accepting his hand. "I believe it was your research on using an alternative approach to resect tumors in the Frontal Lobe that nominated you for an Uchiha Foundation Award last year."

"It was," Gaara nodded.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Itachi saw Kakashi half-turn towards them, listening to their conversation. He didn't say anything. Just paused briefly before returning to what he was doing.

Shisui held out his hand and introduced himself. "Are you working with Dr. Hyuuga on a case?"

"A little. We are meeting later to discuss a patient," Gaara told him. "He is concerned about a young boy that has a tumor in a particularly dangerous area. Not to appear insensitive, but the tumor itself is actually quite fascinating."

"Chief Tsunade didn't grant you privileges," Kakashi said. He capped the pen and turned to face them then, his expression stony.

His comment gave them all pause. For as passive as Kakashi normally was, his tone held something a little sharp, a little hostile. Something silent passed between the men, something only they understood, but Itachi could just as well feel the tension.

"Yes, I am aware," Gaara eventually said, his voice calm but otherwise unreadable. "I am not overstepping my bounds. I am simply offering my help while I await news on my brother's condition."

"Your brother is in the hospital?" Itachi redirected the conversation. His eyes lingered on the trauma surgeon briefly, but Kakashi didn't acknowledge him.

Gaara stared, a little surprised. "My brother, Kankuro, is on the waitlist for a new heart. He was admitted to the hospital yesterday in heart failure. We are discussing options for treatment while we wait for a heart to come. I am surprised Sakura did not tell you."

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that," Itachi told him sincerely. "I believe I received a missed call from Dr. Haruno last night. I was looking to catch up with her this morning after rounds."

Perhaps that was a lie, but Itachi had no intention of calling Sakura out to another surgeon. Especially one he hardly knew. In fact, he hadn't heard from her all night. Which he supposed wasn't entirely unusual, but news that there was a close relative of a highly-regarded surgeon under her care did piqued his interest.

Gaara nodded his thanks. A moment later, his phone sounded and he pulled the device from his pocket before excusing himself.

Only after he had disappeared around the corner did Shisui break the silence, "Heart failure, huh. That sucks."

There was a note of nostalgia in his voice. Itachi glanced at his cousin but he was still observing Gaara's fading back. Even after all these years, Itachi could still remember how he had felt while watching Shisui struggle with his own health. He would never wish the experience upon anyone.

Shisui said nothing more before he left to begin his morning rounds. Itachi was about to do the same when Kakashi stopped him. "Uchiha," he said, his voice so low Itachi had to strain to hear him. "Watch yourself around Gaara."

Then the trauma surgeon shot him a meaningful look before he turned and disappeared down the hall.

Those parting words passed through Itachi's mind again later that afternoon when he ran into Sakura. She stood at the nurses' station, her head in her hand as she filled out a patient chart. Itachi peered into the hospital room at her back, eyeing the lone figure inside.

"How is Kankuro doing?" Itachi asked, stopping beside her.

Sakura picked her head up to look at Itachi before she followed his gaze to the hospital room. "He had a rough night but he's holding steady for now." Then she turned back to him, her expression confused. "How do you know him?"

"I met his brother this morning, Doctor Sunano Gaara."

"You spoke with Gaara?" Her tone sharpening minutely, drawing Itachi's interest.

"I did. He seems like a highly intelligent surgeon," he told her, watching her a little closer than before.

However, Sakura merely made a noise of agreement before she returned to her chart. "He is."

"You know him?"

Her pen stilled again. "Yeah, I do," she said after a moment. Her eyes drifted back to the hospital room where Kankuro was resting. His heart rate stable. For now. "His brother was a patient of mine for a number of years until...well until Gaara left."

That information surprised Itachi. "Gaara used to work here?"

Sakura nodded. "He left a few years ago. I had heard he'd been offered a position at the capital."

"It must have been hard for the hospital to see him go," he said sympathetically. He didn't doubt the board had taken a bit of a financial hit by having such a distinguished surgeon leave.

To his surprise, Sakura just shrugged before she returned to her chart. "It was. But Hyuuga has a reputation for good reason."

Itachi nodded his agreement but didn't comment further. He got the feeling Sakura wasn't really keen on continuing their discussion. He got the impression Gaara's decision to move to another hospital had left her a bit sour.

Itachi pondered this line of thought a moment more before he moved the conversation elsewhere. "Are you staying late tonight?" he asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Sakura said with a frown. "I still have some things to do and I need to follow up on UNOS."

"You know calling them won't make a heart come any faster."

"Yeah," she said quietly. She was still staring down at her chart but her pen remained still. "I just want to help Kankuro. He's waited so long already..."

Itachi brushed a stray hair over her shoulder in a gesture of comfort before he smiled. "I know," he said softly. Then he withdrew his touch. "Call me later?"

Sakura nodded before he walked away. She watched him disappear around the corner, feeling just a little better. Somehow, Itachi seemed to have that effect on her. Comforting her with just a few short words or a single gesture.

But the moment didn't last long as Gaara stepped around the corner. A rock dropped into the pit of her stomach and her smiled vanished. She eyed the Neurosurgeon, tracking his every move as he stopped in front of his brother's hospital room. He paused there briefly, observing Kankuro's vitals through the glass before he finally turned to face her.

"Any change?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head stiffly. "No. I'm still researching other possibilities in the meantime though."

"What about an LVAD?" Gaara offered. "Is he a candidate?"

"I don't know yet," she told him.

She had considered the option last night herself. Implanting a mechanical pump into Kankuro's heart would certainly give the organ a chance to rest. If he regained enough of his strength would allow him to leave the hospital until a heart became available. But there were more tests to be run and factors to consider.

"I'm still considering that option but I can't give you a definite until the rest of his tests come back," Sakura said.

Gaara nodded but didn't speak. He seemed lost in his own thoughts as he studied Kankuro again.

Sakura was content just to let their conversation end there. She flipped her chart closed and set it on the rack with the others before she made to leave. Only before she could make her escape, Gaara turned back to her.

"Sakura," he said so softly his voice was barely a whisper.

She had half a mind to ignore him, pretend she hadn't heard her name. But they were alone, the rest of the nurses seeing to other patients on the floor. Glancing over her shoulder, Sakura looked at Gaara expectantly, hating the way he looked so open and vulnerable in that moment.

"I know we have our history but please do not take it out on Kankuro," he said quietly. "He needs your help."

Her stomach twisted into painful knots and she glanced into Kankuro's hospital room, no longer able to meet Gaara's gaze. That piercing, unwavering stare. When Sakura spoke, her voice was low but strong, not giving away any of the emotions that were churning inside of her. "I would never place my personal business over the life of a patient."

Gaara was smiling when Sakura looked at him again. So familiar and yet so painful. Like an old injury that ached on cold days.

Sakura left as quickly as she could after that. The inside of the hospital walls were suffocating, trapping her and pushing down like hands under water. She fled the building. Following the winding staircase in the back corner of the hospital, down and down until it led to the emergency door on the bottom floor.

The cool air outside was a welcome breath into Sakura's lungs. She collapsed back against the wall and stared down at her hands. They shook with nerves and she wrung them together as if trying to squeeze out their waver, like water in a towel.

Would she ever not feel like this around that man again? Just the mere thought of facing him again, of having to pretend that they were _fine_ made her sick to her stomach. She dropped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

 _Just breathe_ , Kakashi had told her.

"Rough day?"

Snapping her eyes opened, Sakura looked at Tsunade. The Chief was leaning against the wall on the other side of the door, a cigarette in hand. She exhaled a puff of grey smoke before she peered at Sakura out of the corner of her eyes.

There was no judgment in question. Or even really any curiosity. If Sakura didn't answer, she wouldn't press. And if she did, then Tsunade would listen.

"Yeah," Sakura eventually said. Then she studied her adopted mother's profile. Wondered if she wasn't the only one looking for an escape. "You?"

Tsunade inhaled another breath of nicotine before she flicked the ash from her cigarette and exhaled slowly. "Yeah."

They lapsed into silence. Sakura leaned her head back against the side of the building again. This time watching the way the grey clouds passed overhead. She wondered absently if it might rain again that night. But it wasn't long before her mind circled back to how she had come to be out here.

A glance at her watch told her she had surgery soon. She couldn't hide forever. She had to go back into that suffocating building and do the job she was here to do. But she couldn't yet find the strength.

"Gaara is here," Sakura said. Her voice was soft but it shattered the quiet that had settled between them.

"I know," Tsunade said just as lightly.

But there was more in her tone than just acknowledgement. There was understanding and compassion. Two things that her adopted mother didn't show often. Tsunade met Sakura's gaze when she glanced over at her. It suddenly occurred to Sakura that there was a reason Gaara had been denied privileges within the hospital. And it wasn't for professional reasons.

Sakura couldn't help but crack a faint smile.

Tsunade said nothing. Only faced forward again as she sucked down another tainted breath. They stood in silence again until the older woman spoke, "Shizune left again."

Surprised, Sakura turned towards her adopted mother but she was no longer looking at her. She was studying the smoldering end of her cigarette with muted fascination. Sakura frowned.

Shizune and Tsunade had been best friends once. The dark-haired woman had been around a lot in Sakura's youth. Until one day she stopped coming over. Sakura still didn't know what had happened to put such an abrupt end to such a strong friendship - and she doubted she ever would. Tsunade was an incredibly private person, even to Sakura. But growing up, Sakura had seen the toll the distance had put on her adopted mother. Whatever had happened, Sakura had hoped it was something that could be fixed.

"Is she coming back?" Sakura asked gently.

Silence. Then a quiet murmur, "I hope so."

Sakura went back to watched the clouds. Made imaginary images out of them until she resigned herself to heading back inside. She reached for the door handle but didn't quite open it as Tsunade dropped the remainder of her cigarette and scratched it under her heel.

"Coming back inside?"

Tsunade pulled another stick from the package in her pocket. "Soon."

Without judgment, Sakura slipped inside and climbed the stairs slowly, her hands deep in the pockets of her scrubs to warm her chilled fingers.

##

It was the third morning in a row Itachi arrived to the hospital parking lot to find Sakura's car there. He frowned at the vehicle, noting the dry spot under her car where the rain from the previous night had been unable to reach. She hadn't gone home. Again. But what he didn't know was why.

It was this question that rolled through Itachi's head as he entered the hospital. He changed quickly and headed down to the Cardio Ward only to find Sakura wasn't there. Nor was she in surgery, according to the surgical board.

His curiosity grew until he crossed paths with Hyuuga Hanabi. The young resident had been on Sakura's service the day before and after a brief conversation he learned they had spent a better part of their night in Patient Records.

And that is where he found her. Head resting on her crossed arms over the desk and wholly asleep.

Itachi approached her soundlessly. He set the mocha he had picked up from the nearby coffee cart on the desk in front of her before he rested a gentle hand on her back and called her name, "Sakura, wake up."

She jerked awake, her entire form tensing as she bolted upright. When she saw it was just him, she breathed a heavy sigh, her body going lax as if sleep was once again creeping into the edges of her mind.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," Itachi said, pushing the coffee towards her.

Sakura accepted it with a genuine smile of thanks before she swallowed a much needed sip. Wordlessly he slipped into the chair beside her, his eyes lingering of the case files she had fallen asleep over. They looked like experimental treatments for patients awaiting a new heart. Is this why she had been working so many late nights?

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked. She briefly lowered the coffee cup to ask her question before taking another sip.

"It's almost time for rounds."

Her eyes widened. "It's that late already? Shit."

In the next instant, Sakura began tossing patient charts closed as she hastily gathered her own paperwork and notes into a messy pile she could carry with one arm.

Itachi merely watched her. "Sakura, are you going to tell me what is going on?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"You haven't been home in three nights."

Sakura paused then to look at him, as if surprised he knew that. "I know," she said. She returned to cleaning up the workspace, this time at a slower pace. "I'm just so busy with my patients lately."

"Busy doing what?"

"Running labs and scheduling exams."

"That's what interns and residents are for," Itachi told her.

"Yeah, it's just…"

A frown marred her face as she trailed off quietly, unable to meet his gaze. The look only confirmed what Itachi had been suspecting. There was something she was hiding from him. Something she either didn't want to talk about, or didn't know how to tell him. His concern increased ten fold.

"Just what, Sakura?" Itachi asked as carefully as he could. He sat forward in his chair and grasped her wrist in the hopes that she would look at him. She didn't. "What aren't you telling me? Let me help you. I want to help you."

Sakura exhaled slowly. But it was heavy like a million burdens rested upon her shoulders. "I just...I can't go home right now," she said eventually.

The implication of those words deeply troubled him. Why couldn't she? Was there something here stopping her from leaving or was she afraid to go home?

Itachi opened his mouth but before he could ask, Hanabi appeared. She nearly sprinted around the corner, slightly breathless. Like whatever she had to say was of high importance. Both heart surgeons glanced at her and Sakura subtly pulled her wrist out of Itachi's grasp. In the presence of another, he released her without complaint.

"Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Haruno, Dr. Uchiha," Hanani said respectfully before she looked at Sakura directly. "UNOS just called. They have a heart."

Sakura stared at a loss for words. Then she jumped into hyperdrive. "Tell them we want it. Then go inform the harvest team and get the consent forms signed. I'm right behind you."

"Yes, doctor," Hanabi nodded. In the next second, she was out the door and gone again.

Sakura returned to collecting her thing, her movements faster than before. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I promise I'll talk to you later."

Itachi nodded. "Of course."

He simply watched her. Still in his chair as she piled her documents into one arm and grabbed her coffee cup with the other hand. Once she had everything, she turned to leave. Only to hesitate. Sakura turned back to him slowly. Her lips pursed as she seemed to consider something. Then her expression softened. "Thank you, Itachi."

Itachi smiled faintly in response before she left. Even after the door had closed, he continued to sit a little while longer. A disturbed feeling had settled deep in his gut. If there was one thing he had come to know about Sakura, it was that she was very good at hiding her feelings.

For there was definitely something going. And she was not alright.

_**to be continued…** _


	17. Chapter 17

_**Where it Happened  
part xvii** _

Kankuro was leaving the hospital. Finally. After waiting years, his heart transplant finally happened. It had been successful. Completely flawless. He was healing and stable. Which meant there was no medical reason to keep him here any longer.

Sakura tried to tell herself it was this reason only that made her happy to see Kankuro go. And as she watched him through the glass doors of his hospital room, she nearly believed it herself.

Temari was with Kankuro now, a real grin on his face as he teased his sister. A feat he used to never get away with before he had fallen ill. The fierce blonde woman was sitting beside him in the wide hospital bed, the pair viewing something on her phone together.

It was all very endearing watching them interact. Sakura couldn't hear their conversation, but she could just as well feel the affection the siblings had for one another. Kankuro cracked some joke and poked his sister in the side, causing Temari to laugh and swat his hand away.

Without a doubt, Sakura knew Kankuro would have all the support he would need after leaving the hospital. She hoped this would be his last long-term stay. For all their sake's.

"How is he?"

Sakura sensed Gaara before he spoke. It was a strange feeling. To be so intuned with someone, she could feel them before they made their presence known. It was like a sickness one was trying to avoid, aware of everything they touched, everything they breathed.

"He's doing well. Really well," Sakura said, looking back down at Kankuro's chart. "His platelet count is good. His coags are normal. I was going to release him today."

"Today?" Gaara repeated. "Isn't it too soon?"

"We've kept him under careful observation since the surgery. He isn't showing any signs of rejection. There's no reason to keep him here," Sakura told him finally chancing a glance in his direction. She was surprised to find honest concern on his face. Her cool tone warmed. If only a little. "This is a good thing."

Gaara said nothing as he eyed his siblings through the glass door. His face now utterly unreadable. The longer he stood quietly, the more uneasy Sakura grew. Eventually he glanced back to her. "Thank you for everything you have done."

"I was just doing my job."

"It was more than that," he said, turning to face her fully. "You have always done more than what is expected in our line of work. So I thank you. Sincerely."

Sakura didn't reply as she fought back the swell of emotion that filled her chest. When he looked at her like that, it transported her back to that time when they were together. Happy and still believing they could conquer the world together. Back then, that look had made warm with butterflies. Now it only made her want to crawl into a hole and hide.

Without a word, Sakura turned back to her to the chart. She had every intention on ending their conversation there but Gaara reached for her then, his hand falling over the back of hers. His touch was gentle but Sakura jerked away as if he had burned her.

The smallest of frowns crossed his face. "Sakura, can we just talk?" he asked quietly. When she didn't answer, he continued, "I know you were hurt and for that I am sorry. I just want to see that you are truly alright."

"I'm fine," she said stiffly.

He didn't look so convinced and tried a different direction. "You have done so much for Kankuro. I only wish there was something I could do in return."

"He was a patient," she told him flatly. "You owe me nothing."

The disappointment was only too obvious on his face. He stared at her, as if hoping she might say something else, but she merely turned away to continue her work.

Gaara sighed quietly. "Well, if you ever change your mind, you know how to reach me."

It was only once she heard Kankuro's hospital door slide open and closed that she dared look up again. Kankuro waved Gaara over to show him what he and Temari were viewing on her phone. Together, the three of them looked like one happy family. Even when Sakura and Gaara were dating, it had been rare to see such a relaxed look on his face.

A sliver of guilt embedded in her chest. Perhaps he was being sincere. Maybe she was being too hard on him…

Stealing herself, Sakura banished that thought from her mind. No, she wasn't. She would never forget their past. And she certainly wasn't going to forgive him for it.

Grabbing the discharge papers from the nurse, Sakura signed off her name. She gave that hospital room one last look before she turned her back and walked away.

##

Two surgeries back-to-back was exactly the kind of thing Sakura needed. It cleared her mind of all worries and stress. The perfect distraction. For when a patient was on her table, all that mattered was them.

By the time Sakura had wrapped up the latter procedure, she was already feeling lighter. Like the operating room had given her some perspective. These people were the ones with real problems. It's not like she require open-heart surgery to fix her issues.

In the cafeteria, Sakura sat alone with a yogurt to refuel herself and a window seat to give her something to look at. The day was still mostly overcast but sunshine peeked behind the clouds every now and then. On a nearby tree, a bird jumped from branch to branch. Her eyes followed it absently, just enjoying the simplicity of it all.

At least until Ino slid into the seat across from her. Sakura glanced at her to find there was a deep furrow on the blonde's face.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Are you doing alright?"

She cocked a curious brow. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Ino shot her a look that clearly told her to stop playing dumb. "Because Gaara is here."

Sakura's mood dropped in an instant. Her gaze fell to her yogurt as she absently scrapped the little bit left at the bottom of the container, not really sure what to say.

A soft sigh sounded across the table. "Look, I know I teased you about him and I know that was probably insensitive of me, but I know he hurt you. Enough that you won't even tell me the whole story. And I'm not trying to pry. I just want to know that you're okay."

' _I know he hurt you.'_ That single comment rang in Sakura's mind. Gaara had said something similar that morning. Only different. ' _I know you were hurt,'_ he had said. A subtle way to take the blame off himself. He was still a master manipulator. Nothing had changed.

"Kankuro is being discharged today," Sakura said. "I'll be fine after that."

That information seemed to relieve Ino for the furrow between her brows relaxed. "You look like you could use a drink. Wanna get together after work?"

Pushing her empty yogurt aside, Sakura rested her cheek on her fist. It did sound nice. Maybe she would leave a little early today, wash the smell of hospital that was sure to be lingering in her pores, and meet Ino at the usual spot.

"Yeah, let's do that," Sakura said.

Ino glanced at her watch. "Eight sound good?"

After Sakura confirmed the time, the blonde left the cafeteria. Sakura didn't linger much longer either. She collected her yogurt and tossed it in the trash before wandering down to the ER. She had every intention of keeping as far away from the Cardiac Ward as possible, barring any emergencies.

For awhile, it seemed her plan was going to work. The emergency room kept her busy. She helped with the incoming traumas, diagnosing injuries, and ordering labs and exams. It was good. The hustle kept her distracted and made the long hours pass quickly.

By the time evening set in, the everyday rush had slowed. Kakashi had everything under control. Sakura glanced at her watch again, debating if it was too early for her to skip out of the hospital now. She would just need to check in on Itachi to see if he needed any help. Which she doubted. He hardly ever called upon her. Not that it was a bad reflection upon her. He just knew how to manage his workload.

"Dr. Haruno," a meek voice called.

Pulling herself out of her thought, Sakura glanced over to find Kazamatsuri Moegi beside her. The second-year resident looked nervous, as if she was unsure she wanted to say what was on her mind.

Sakura eyed her curiously. "What can I do for you, Moegi?"

"I'm not sure," she said slowly. There was a large envelope pressed to her chest but she released her tight grip on it slowly to pass it towards Sakura. "This patient came in this afternoon with a GSW to the back of the head. Doctor Hyuuga ruled him inoperable and comatose. The Neuro fellow is getting ready to call brain death before the harvest team takes his organs."

Sakura accepted the scans but continued to gaze at the young resident curiously. "If he's almost brain dead, why are you giving me these?"

Meogi didn't quite meet her eyes. Without something to hold, she began to fidget with her hands. "Because I think his brain death is preventable," she finally said.

Well that was interesting. "You do?" Sakura repeated, her disbelief evident in her tone.

It was unusual for a resident - especially one so young - to disagree with a senior resident and an attending. Especially one as experienced at Neji. Sakura eyed Meogi a moment longer but her curiosity got the best of her and she couldn't help but peek at the scans.

Sure enough, there was a bullet lodged in the back of the man's skull. It was intruding on the medulla, the part of the brain that regulated respiration and circulation functions. Any trauma in this area could certainly turn a patient comatose and cause brain death.

"What are his stats?" Sakura asked, briefly glancing at the young doctor beside her.

"He's apneic," Meogi told her. There was no movement in any of the muscles used to inhale. "But he wasn't when he was initially brought in."

Tha caught Sakura's notice. "He wasn't?"

When Meogi shook her head, Sakura studied that exams again, this time with a more careful eye. The more she thought about it, the more this case seemed to bother her. It was unusual to see such a slow onset with this type of trauma. Perhaps this patient did deserve a second look.

Replacing the scans back into the sleeve, Sakura turned to the young resident. "Tell the harvest team to wait. I want another review of this case."

"And if the harvest team doesn't listen?" she asked.

Sakura shot her a stern look. "Then make them listen."

The pair went their separate ways after that. Meogi back up to the ICU and Sakura down to the surgical floor. She found Neji in OR 3, scalpel-deep in a patient's brain. He paused and glanced up upon her entrance.

"Dr. Haruno, it's been a while since I last shared the OR with you. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You had a patient come into the ER today," she told him, mask pressed over her nose and mouth. "A GSW to the back of the head."

Neji cocked a quizzical brow before he returned to his surgery. "So I did. His vitals were unstable, making him unsuitable for surgery. I was hoping his stats would stabilize but he slipped into a coma. What interest is he to you?"

"One of the residents on the case just brought his scans to me. The bullet is perfectly placed. So perfect his breathing didn't turn apneic until _after_ he was brought to the hospital," Sakura emphasized.

Stilling, Neji glanced at Sakura again, silently considering that new piece of information. They reached the same conclusion almost at the same exact time.

"Bullets are encased in a lead jacket," Neji said slowly. "A metal toxic to the human body."

"And it's poisoning his cerebral spinal fluid."

"Causing his central nervous system to shut down," he finished for her. "That bullet needs to be removed immediately if the patient has any hope of surviving."

"Then let's book an OR," Sakura said, her shoulders straightening with purpose.

He just looked at her. "I'm in the middle of a patient's brain, Haruno. I can't just step away."

With a frown, Sakura weighed their options. The longer they waited, the more likely the patient was unable to recover. "That patient still has a chance at survival. We can't afford to wait."

"So page the Neuro fellow. I will be there as soon as I am done here."

There was a note of finality in his voice. One that Sakura didn't argue with. For he was in fact in the middle of brain surgery. Without another word, she slipped back out of the operating room, but she made no move to find the Neuro fellow. She didn't trust him. Not after the work she had already witnessed on this case.

Closing her eyes, Sakura raked a rough hand through her hair as she prepared herself for what she was about to do. Unease of the consequences already settling heavily in the pit of her stomach.

Then she pulled herself together and ran.

She hit the Cardiac Ward first, relieved to find Gaara in Kankuro's room with his siblings. They all looked up when she slid the door open. "I need a word with you," she told Gaara.

He peered at her curiously, as did Kankuro and Temari, before he told his siblings, "I will be back."

Sakura retreated back to the nurses' station and waited silently for Gaara to exit his brother's hospital room. When he approached her, she handed the scans to him without a word. And to her surprise, he took them.

Adrenaline flooded Sakura's veins and filled her body in icy hot waves as she stood there. She chewed the inside of her lip anxiously, waiting with nervous tension as Gaara examined the images. It was a long minute before he spoke. "This bullet needs to be removed. Immediately."

"Yes," she agreed.

"You can see the terectory of the bullet here," he said, pointing to a spot on the scan. "It can be extracted but it will need to be done precisely. You should page your Head of Neuro."

"He's in the middle of a craniotomy."

Gaara looked at her then. Suddenly aware of what she was asking. "I do not have any authority here."

"I know," Sakura said slowly. She hesitated then, like the next words out of her mouth would change everything. "I'm granting you privileges."

Their eyes locked, stuck in a single instant in time. A stone cast into a still pond, sending ripples that would grow fast in a short period of time.

Gaara was the first to speak. "Then let's go. I will meet you in the OR. You go get the patient."

Without another word, they both sprinted off the floor in opposite directions. Sakura rushed to the ICU and entered the patient's room in time to see Moegi facing off against the harvest team. They turned to her upon her entrance.

"Dr. Haruno, what is the meaning of this?" Ao asked. "We have orders to take this patient down for organ harvest."

Sakura didn't even glance at the older surgeon. Just accepted the patient's chart from Meogi. "Not anymore. I am taking over their care."

"This patient is brain dead."

"Almost brain dead," she corrected.

Ao just looked at her, obviously affronted. "I'm sorry, doctor," he said, not at all apologetic, "but you don't have any authority-"

"I outrank you," Sakura said, snapping the patient chart closed. She met his gaze evenly, refusing to back down. "I have full authority."

No one spoke against the sharp edge in her tone. Ao looked disgruntled by her pull of rank but he stepped back nonetheless as the nurses made the patient ready for transport.

OR 1 was waiting for them when they arrived. The surgical nurses took the patient into the theatre to prep him for surgery while Sakura slipped into the scrub room. Gaara was already inside, his street clothes gone and replaced with dark blue scrubs.

He glanced up at her entry. "They're prepping him for a suboccipital craniotomy. I can remove the bullet myself but I will need another set of hands to assist."

Sakura nodded. "I will page the Neuro fellow-"

"No. I need you in there."

Unsure how to immediately react, she remained silent. The rushing water from the sink filling the space between them. Eventually she shook her head. "I'm a Cardiologist."

"And yet you assisted me in craniotomies when you were a resident. I need the best in there and you have the steadiest hands I know," he told her.

He shut off the water and turned to face her. His gaze met hers evenly. Still Sakura hesitated, listening for that placating tone, that voice he used when he was trying to manipulate her into something. Only to find honesty, straight and simple, lingering in his words.

"Scrub in with me." Not a request, and yet not a demand.

Her adrenaline was still surging through her veins like lightning. Her heart hammered in her chest. There were a million reasons she could think of on why this was a terrible, _terrible_ idea. But none of those mattered right now. Only the patient did.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura stepped inside the scrub room.

##

The minutes ticked by like hours. Sakura had to resist glancing at the clock every two seconds and focus on the task at hand. Literally.

Gaara operated flawlessly, his motions steady and precise. During the first half of the surgery, Sakura had been convinced he had trapped her in the OR to finally get her to talk to him. But he never said a word. Only concentrated on his work. His only comments to her to ask for more visibility or suction.

Sakura was beginning to feel comfortable. Which was good because they were approaching the step where Gaara would be pulling the bullet out of a very, very sensitive portion of the brain.

Glancing up at the scans beside them, Sakura studied the live image of their patient's brain. The bullet fortunately hadn't moved but it was still in danger of causing permanent damage and even death.

"The cranial nerves are still intact," Gaara said, his tone calm and even. The voice he reserved solely for surgery.

Sakura peered at the digital display tracking the electrical output in the patient's brain. Sure enough, everything seemed to be functioning properly. Surprising considering there was still in fact a foreign object embedded in the lower part of the man's brain stem.

"I just need a little more visibility and I can move forward with extraction."

Automatically, Sakura adjusted her grip on her retractor, careful of the fragile nerves and tissue. She couldn't help but lean in a little closer. After all, it wasn't often that she got to assist in brain surgery. It was a specialty she had once seriously considered during her residency years. The brain, so powerful and complicated, and yet so delicate and sensitive.

But it was the heart that she found herself always coming back to. There was something comforting about operating on an organ that was so constant. It would only ever beat one way. Sure and steady and strong. Mending hearts were the surgeries she lived for.

The sound of OR doors nearly slamming open abruptly paused the surgery. Sakura peered towards the doors, as did every other person in the operating room. All except Gaara. Tsunade glared over her mask. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Sunano?"

Gaara didn't look up, merely continued his work. His hands calm and steady. "I am saving a patient from brain death."

Tsunade's glare deepened. "Who gave you permission?"

"I did," Sakura said.

She glanced at the Chief then, meeting her gaze. Behind her surgical mask, a look of surprise crossed Tsunade's face before she frowned. Sakura didn't have to ask to know her adopted mother was irked she had gone behind her back.

Tsunade's eyes flickered to the patient before returning to Sakura. "Find me when you are done here," the Chief said, her voice steely. "I want a full report."

Sakura nodded respectfully. "Of course, Chief."

The doors swung shut behind Tsunade as she exited. The moment she was gone, Sakura returned her attention to the surgery. During the entire conversation, Gaara had continued to operate but he paused briefly to glance at her. "Thank you," he murmured just loud enough for her to hear.

Sakura ignored him, relieved when he returned to his work. For the next step was the hard part.

The entire OR held their breath as Gaara finally made the plunge for the bullet. He extracted it carefully. Slowly. And with the hands of a complete master. It was the shortest part of the procedure. And yet the longest.

It was like a bubble burst when he finally dropped the bullet into the metal, waste basin. A release of tension so thick, Sakura felt the entire room breath in one, big collected sigh.

"He's holding strong," the OR nurse said.

Sakura almost laughed in relief and glanced at Gaara to find he was already watching her. Her excitement burnt out like a candle in the breeze, smoke dissipation in the air. She looked away. "Can you close up by yourself? I need to report to the Chief."

Upon Gaara's nod, a theatre nurses took Sakura's place. She left the OR after that, shedding her surgical gown and gloves. It was only once she had finished scrubbing out and was back in the hall that she realized it was nerves twisting her stomach into knots and not a surgical high.

But there was no shake or waiver to her hands. They were completely still. Sakura couldn't help but smile a little. Perhaps she could get through this.

_**to be continued...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am aware of the medical inaccuracies in this chapter. No, I do not care 😁😁😁


	18. Chapter 18

__**Where it Happened  
part xviii  
(Chapter 17 - part 2)**

Tsunade chewed Sakura out. And not in the quiet, disappointed way. She had screamed and yelled, demanding to know what the hell Sakura was thinking by allowing a non-hospital employed surgeon perform an operation in her hospital.

In hindsight, it had been a massive liability and the consequences had Gaara failed would have been immeasurable. But Sakura had been desperate. There was no one else qualified to do the job. A fact that had calmed Tsunade from a near-blinding rage to a scalding-hot simmer.

In the end, Sakura's ass had been handed to her. She did feel guilty for going behind Tsunade's back after she'd had Sakura's but it had been necessary. The patient had survived and was under Neji's care.

Although judging by the curt answers he gave her when she inquired about the man's condition, he obviously wasn't thrilled about her going to another Neurosurgeon rather than his fellow either. Sakura would have to apologize later. After his temper had cooled.

Carding her fingers through her hair, Sakura checked the time on her phone. It was nearly eight. She was going to be late to meeting Ino. Oops.

Quickly Sakura shot her blonde friend off a text, apologizing, updating her on her new ETA, and promising an explanation later. Sakura smiled when Ino replied in typical Ino-fashion, chiding Sakura and accepting her apology all in the same sentence.

That grin was still on Sakura's face when she neared the attendings' lounge. Only to abruptly fade when she rounded the corner and found Gaara just outside the door. Obviously waiting for her. In an instant, her smile vanished. She eyed him cautiously, noting he had changed out of his scrubs and back into his dark jeans and black, leather jacket.

"You're still here," she said stiffly.

He straightened from the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was hoping we could talk."

"I thought I made it perfectly clear I had no interest in talking to you." Her face was anything but friendly as she passed him to enter the lounge.

Gaara followed behind her. "You came to me for a case," he countered.

Stopping in her tracks, Sakura swung around to face him. "Is that what you think happened? That I called upon you because I wanted to talk?" When Gaara just looked at her, her eyes narrowed. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear so there is no possible way you misconstrue my words. I came to you for a patient and for no other reason. It was not personal, it was not me calling upon a favor or trying to 'win you back'. It was work."

"Sakura, I know you are angry," he said gently, reaching a hand out towards her.

She flash stepped back, a glare settling over her features. "Don't touch me," she snapped.

To her relief he didn't try again, but a frown tugged on his mouth. "Are you really going to pretend nothing ever happened between us?"

"I'm not pretending. I'm just done discussing it. Whatever relationship we had is over. We're done," Sakura said with a hard tone of finality.

She slipped past Gaara, intending to come back later to collect her things, when he grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her back. "Do not walk away from me."

The momentum forced her to spin back around to him. He pulled her towards him, their faces inches away. This close there was no mistaking the deep anger lining his face. Sakura's own temper dissipated like dust in the wind and in its place, fear took over. Here, she was alone and she was not safe.

"Let go of me," she said. But her words tumbled out of her mouth breathily. More like a request than a demand.

Gaara ignored it. "You think you can talk to me like that? I gave you everything. And what did you do? You turned your back on me. You do not get to act like I wronged you."

Sakura pulled against his unwavering hold but his grip on tightened until she was sure she would have bruises come the morning. She tried not to wince.

"Gaara, let go of me," she repeated, louder this time. She tried to pull away again to no avail.

"You selfish bitch. Even now you have no respect. I didn't have to do that surgery and yet I still came when you ask and this is yours thanks?"

Gaara backhanded her across the face. Hard and without warning. Pain erupted in the corner of her mouth. A half-shocked, half-pained sound escaped Sakura as the unique tang of blood coated her tongue.

It wasn't the first time he had left bruises on her skin but never had he outright hit her. At least not hard enough to draw blood. Automatically she raised a hand to her mouth, her wide eyes flickering to his. Her fingers trembled against her lips, afraid he would strike her again.

To her surprise, his face had softened. That palpable rage quieting to something almost sweet. Gaara cupped her jaw gently to look at the damage. "Now look what you made me do. You should know better than to make me angry."

His tone was that of a lover. Soft and so caring. It sent a chill through her. She stood still as a statue, wary of his volatile mood. Only when Gaara's thumb brushed over the hurt did Sakura finally react. She flinched and jerked back. Out of his grip and away from him.

"Sakura," Gaara called gently.

Trying not to shake, Sakura took a step back. Then another. He made a half-attempt to reach for her but she had already turned and bounded out the door.

Sakura barely held herself together as she rushed down the hall. She entered inside the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time only to slip back out on the next floor. She didn't want anyone to see her. Not like this. The first door she came upon was a supply closet and she hide herself inside.

There, Sakura finally let her tears fall. A shaky sob echoed in the empty storage room. She pressed her fingers to her mouth again only for them to come away wet. The taste of blood was stronger now.

Using her tongue, she felt around carefully only to wince when she found a deep gash on the inside of her lip where her teeth had sliced the delicate skin. The urge to cry rose again but she fiercely stomped it down when the door to the storage room suddenly open.

Sakura was barely given any time to turn away as two figures entered. She pressed her hand back over her mouth. Both to hide and muffle any sound.

"I want the central line in room six replaced. And take these supplies to four."

There was a crinkling of plastic in the far side of the closet as items were pulled off the shelf and exchanged. "Yes, Doctor."

Sakura groaned inwardly when she recognized Itachi's voice. She didn't want him to see her like this. God must be playing some kind of joke on her for him to run into her of all places.

Fortunately Itachi hadn't seen her yet. If luck was on her side, he would leave without seeing her. Holding her breath, she stood utterly still, trying to make herself as unnoticeable as possible.

Just when Sakura thought she might get away unseen, Itachi grabbed something off the shelf nearby. "Sakura? I haven't seen you all day. What are you doing in here?"

She turned away, pretending to read a box containing disinfectant wipes. "Just getting some supplies," she said.

But there must have been something in her voice for he glanced at her and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Uh yeah," she said a little too quickly, a little too cheerfully.

Itachi stopped what he was doing in an instant. Without a word, he replaced his supplies on the shelf and reached for her. Resigning herself to the fact she was caught, Sakura let him turn her around slowly. She didn't dare look at him, but she could just as well feel his shock the moment he saw her face. His hands went for her jaw. On reflex, she flinched.

"Sakura, what the hell happened?" Itachi asked, not quite a demand. His tone was laced with deep concern. So much that tears immediately flooded her eyes again.

She opened her mouth but her words failed her. All that came out was a quiet sob.

Itachi didn't ask any more questions. Simply ushered her towards the far side of the supply closet where the lighting was better. There, he hastily cleared part of the steel counter before helping her onto it. The metal was cold through her scrubs but she didn't complain. Merely watched Itachi out of the corner of her eyes as he quickly retrieved a pair of gloves and a box of gauze before he returned to her.

His touch was that of surgeon as he tended to the gash on the inside of her mouth, confident but gentle. If he noticed the tears still falling down her face, he didn't say anything.

Sakura's eyes remained downcast. She couldn't remember a time she had ever been more vulnerable in front of Itachi and she found herself unable to even look in his direction. The entire situation felt surreal. In a way, she was a little numb to it all. Like she was looking in from the outside.

The room was quiet. But strangely not uncomfortably so. The crinkling of a wrapper filled the space between them as Itachi opened another package. Sakura winced when he pressed a little too hard and he murmured an apology before he continued, this time with a gentler hand.

It was a little while later before Itachi spoke again. "The cut is fairly deep but not enough to need stitches," he told her quietly, slipping off his gloves. He set them with the pile of bloody gauze on the counter before he carefully grasped her chin and angled her face again to inspect her injury. "It will bruise and likely swell but there's not much I can do about that."

Sakura nodded, her gaze still elsewhere.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Itachi asked gently as he released her.

Wiping her nose, she shook her head. That was the only prompt Itachi needed to reach over and grab a tissue. She could feel his eyes on her as she dabbed at her face but he waited to speak until she had cleaned herself up.

"You should go home," he told her not unkindly. "At least for the rest of the day."

"I can't," Sakura said, speaking for the first time. There was a small waver to her voice and she cleared her throat lightly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Itachi sigh silently. "Sakura, you have been here every night for nearly the entire week. You need to go home-"

"I can't because he knows where I live."

Itachi stilled as he processed that. "...Gaara did this?"

Her lack of answer was answer enough.

Like a light switched, Itachi's entire demeanor changed. Gone was his compassion and in its place anger began to show. But it wasn't directed at her. "He physically assaulted you, Sakura. You need to report him."

"I know, I know," she said. But even as she sat there, she knew that was easier said than done. Tears welled in her eyes again and she wiped at them furiously.

Itachi offered her another tissue and waited for her to collect herself before he pressed again, this time more gently. "Sakura, Gaara is a surgeon. If he is willing to lay a hand on you, we don't know that he is not doing the same to his patients."

That was something Sakura hadn't considered before. A hard lump settled in the pit of her stomach. She could feel Itachi's eyes burning into her but she still couldn't quite look at him. Instead, she leaned forward, resting her forearms on her thighs. She dapped at the corner of her mouth again only to flinch as her teeth pressed against the soreness on the inside of her lip.

"It's complicated…" she finally said. "He was someone important. Once."

Itachi blinked. "You two were together."

"Yeah..." Sakura nodded, her eyes fixed on the tissue as she picked at it. She had intended on ending the conversation there but then her mouth opened against her will. "I first started seeing Gaara when I was still a resident. We were together for a few years. I thought...I thought he and I would…" She trailed off unable to quite put her thoughts into words. A minute passed as she gathered herself, but when she spoke again her voice was stronger and full of thinly-veiled anger. "Gaara is not everything he seems. He's a liar and a manipulator. He broke me down piece by piece. Until I no longer existed and all that was left was the person he had created."

She gazed down at her balled fist, to the tissue she suffocated in her grip. All those painful memories she had tried so hard to forget clogged her throat now. She felt she might burst under the weight of her own emotions. "He had complete control over me. There wasn't anything I wouldn't do for him. And I nearly did. I nearly gave up my career, my life...everything for him," she said quietly, hatefully.

Itachi's hand fell over the back of hers then. And just like that all her own pent up rage vanished. She marveled at how much larger his hand was and yet his touch was so tender and delicate. Like he could suture butterfly wings back together. Her grip fell slack around her tissue.

"But you didn't," Itachi pressed softly.

Sakura shook her head. "No. Kakashi found out. When he realized what was happening, he stepped in and talked some sense back into me. Gaara tried to get him away from me but Kakashi wouldn't budge. And then one morning, Gaara left. Just like that. No note, no phone call. He was just gone. It took a long time to build myself back together and just when I thought I could move on from the past, he shows up here and I..." She exhaled an uneven breath. "I don't want to go back to who I was when I was with him."

Sometime while she had been talking, her tears had returned. She dabbed at her face but her tissue was crumpled and useless. Without a word, Itachi retrieved a fresh one but rather than hand it to her, he wiped her face for her. Not once complaining when fresh tracks fell down her cheeks.

"You are not that same person, Sakura," Itachi eventually said, his voice quiet but firm and unwavering. "You are strong - stronger than him - and you have nothing to be ashamed of. This is not your fault and you are not alone. I am right here."

Kakashi had said the same thing, Sakura realized with startling clarity. For the first time since Itachi had entered the room, she finally looked at him. Even with his compassionate words, she hadn't fully anticipated such understanding and kindness to be reflecting back at her. Another swell of emotion built in her chest but it was warmer and full of hope.

Her chin quivered again and with a shaking hand, she reached for him, thankful when Itachi leaned close enough that she could rest her forehead against his collarbone. Sakura couldn't remember a time when she had ever felt safer in someone's arms. It was this comfort that slowed her trembling to a stop. Emotionally, she was still fragile like she was made of glass and one slip would send her crashing into a million pieces. But it didn't frighten her as she once thought it would. Because she was certain if she did beak, Itachi would pick up every last piece.

Some time later, the door opened again. Sakura pulled away from Itachi to wipe at her face just as Kakashi popped his head inside. "You paged me 911 to a supply closet, Uchiha?" he asked perplexed.

That's when Kakashi caught sight of Sakura. His eyes lingered on her mouth before his expression turned deadly. "Gaara...I'm going to kill him."

"No, you will not," Itachi quickly countered. "I have a surgery in ten minutes I can't push and you were off shift an hour ago. I need you to take Sakura to my condo."

"What?" Sakura asked, genuinely confused.

Itachi glanced back at her when he was certain Kakashi wouldn't immediately go for Gaara's head. "You said it yourself that you can't go home, and you need time away from the hospital. You can stay at my place as long as you want. You will not find any locked doors there."

His generosity left her at a loss for words. Sakura thought she actually might cry again but was fortunately saved the embarrassment when Itachi pressed his keys into her hands before he leaned forward to kiss her forehead. It was chaste but relayed more than any words could. Her eyes fell closed, savoring that moment as long as she could.

Itachi left her in Kakashi's care after that. For a long minute, Sakura simply stared down at his keys, trying to sort out her emotions. She wanted to both laugh and cry at the same time. In the end, she did neither. She simple curled her fingers around the metal before she finally looked up at Kakashi.

He was watching her closely, waiting for her to make the next move. Sakura simply smiled. Like perhaps just this once she could believe everything would be alright.

##

Sakura stayed with Itachi for four nights before she finally gathered her courage to go home. In those four nights, he had been the perfect gentleman. He cooked, he fetched her clothes from her apartment - something she had protested against adamantly to no avail - and made sure she had absolutely everything she needed.

To her relief, Itachi never asked her anything more about Gaara. Only briefly inquired how her mouth was feeling and if she needed anything for it. Jokingly she had told him yes the first time, if only so he could play doctor for her again. The look on his face had been priceless.

In those moments, everything was easy. Normal. Sakura had enjoyed staying with Itachi more than she thought she would. But by the third night, she was beginning to feel like she was overstaying her welcome and by the forth, she knew she was taking advantage of his kindness. Of course Itachi had protested when she told him it was time she head home but the promise of coming back again soon had quickly appeased him.

What did surprise Sakura was how much better she felt after finally spilling her dark past to Itachi. He hadn't judged her or gotten upset like she had expected. He had been completely and utterly understanding. So exactly what she needed.

Which is why Sakura felt so guilty she hadn't told him Gaara had called her. Every night. Leaving voicemails that she promptly deleted and sending text messages she never read.

At first Sakura had every intention of ignoring him, waiting it out until he left town in the hopes that he would never show his face again. But something Itachi had said stuck with her like a song on repeat. Enough so that exactly one week after he had touched her she picked up the phone and dialed his number.

That was how Sakura found herself at the most expensive restaurant in the city. It was beautiful with a dining room wrapped in warm, gold colors and crystal chandeliers that gave off an intimate glow. Couples dressed in suits and evening gowns chatted over gourmet dishes and glasses of wine.

Amongst the crowd, Sakura stuck out. Not just from the messenger bag over her shoulder or the boots and black blazer she had worn. But also from the bruising along her face her make up still couldn't quite cover.

Gaara was in the middle of the dining room. By himself and dressed in an expensive suit. He looked up upon her approach, his eyes lingering on her blemished skin. If he felt any regret or guilt over his actions, she couldn't see any. Nor could she see anything else in his gaze.

"Sakura," he greeted. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

She didn't say anything as she lowered herself into the seat across from him. A waiter appeared instantly, holding a wine list out to her. "Good evening, ma'am. Can I offer you anything to drink?"

"No," she said, still looking at Gaara. "I don't plan on staying long."

The waiter quickly took the hint and made himself scarce.

All week, Sakura had thought about what she would say to Gaara. She played over the conversation in her head so many times. But now that he was in front of her, she couldn't remember any of it. All she knew was that she was one part terrified and one part furious. And a very, very small portion hopeful. Hopeful that he would regret hurting her. And perhaps he was. But not for the reasons he should be.

"I want to start off by saying I am terribly sorry for what I did," Gaara began slowly. "You did not deserve-"

"Please stop," Sakura interrupted quietly.

More than anything she wanted to come off cool and unaffected, but this had been a man she thought she had loved once, and no matter how much she tried to forget that, she just couldn't. But she needed to say what she came here to say and if Gaara spoke, she knew she would never get it all out.

"I didn't come here to hear your apology," she told him. "I came here for one reason only, so I am going to tell you how this is going to go: You will stay away from me. Forever. You will get on a plane tomorrow and you will never come back. The only reason I am not reporting you to the board is because of your ability as a Neurosurgeon. But if I ever hear so much as a whisper that you have laid a hand on someone else - patient, significant other or otherwise - I will come after you. I will use every ounce of my reputation, call upon every last favor I have to not only pull your license but ensure you get charged and go to trial. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sakura…" Gaara said. His voice was soft enough but his expression was utterly unreadable. He was angry. He didn't show it but she knew it.

Her fear reared again but she fiercely shoved it back. "Do I make myself clear?" she repeated with more strength than she felt.

A muscle in his jaw ticked but to her relief he nodded. She supposed it was the best he would give her.

Satisfied, Sakura's hard expression softened minutely. "Enjoy your dinner," she said. Then she stood and left the restaurant.

Outside, the night air swept over Sakura. She didn't realize she had been sweating until after the cooler temperature hit her skin. Leaning against the side of her car, she turned her face upwards and took a deep breath to calm her beating heart. She nearly felt dizzy. But not from nerves. More like excitement.

She was free. She was finally free and it made her feel unstoppable. Made her want to celebrate. And that's exactly what she was going to do.

Swinging by the store, Sakura picked up three bottles of wine. Because two certainly wasn't enough. By the time she arrived at Itachi's, she was nearly bubbling with energy. She knocked on the door loudly and waited impatiently for it to open.

It wasn't long before the handle turned and the door swung open. Itachi blinked, obviously surprised to find her on his doorstep. Especially since she had told him she was busy that night. "Sakura, what are you doing here?"

"I know I should have called," she said apologetically. "You're probably sick of seeing me by now but I had to come see you. I have something to tell you." She dug through her bag then and handed him one of the bottles inside. "I brought wine."

A bit confused, Itachi took the bottle from her. He looked at it briefly before he shook his head. "Now is not a good time, Sakura," he told her.

But she had already slipped past him, heading further into his condo where she knew the kitchen was. "What do you mean?" she asked. She pulled the other two wine bottles out of her bag and set them on the counter before she turned to grab his bottle opener.

That's when Sakura realized he wasn't alone. There was a woman standing in the living room, her hair black and sleek, and her beautiful face carved from pure marble.

"Oh, you have company," Sakura froze, suddenly realizing her mistake. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

She briefly glanced at Itachi as he entered the kitchen behind her, but she turned back to the other woman when she stepped forward, her blood red lips stretching into a smile. "You must be Haruno Sakura."

Bewildered, Sakura blinked. "I am. I'm so sorry. Have we met?"

"No, we haven't," she said, her smile still in place. "I'm Izumi, Itachi's fiancée."

_**to be continued...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is a Grey's Anatomy AU...😁😁


	19. Chapter 19

_**Where it Happened  
part xix** _

Sakura was ignoring him. And not just his phone calls and text messages, but his pages too. Itachi searched the entire hospital for her. The Cardiac Ward, the ER, every OR. But every place he went, she wasn't there. And every person he asked didn't seem to know where she was. She was just gone.

It was like after fleeing his condo the night before, Sakura had just vanished into thin air. Itachi had tried to get in contact with her every way short of showing up at her apartment but she hadn't replied to any of it. It didn't take a genius to know she was mad. He understood that. All he wanted was a moment to explain. He had hoped to catch her today - corner her even if he had to - but first he had to find her.

Not knowing where else to go, Itachi swung by the surgical board again. He scanned the list of surgeries purposefully, searching for her name. When he didn't find it, he raked a rough hand through his hair and crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

For the first time, Itachi was lost. He didn't know what to do next. In surgery, it was so much easier. If something was bleeding, slap a bandage over it. If it was deep, stitches. An abnormality, cut it out.

Alright, perhaps medicine was not that simple, but in comparison to this, it sure seemed that way. There was a rising feeling in his chest. Not quite panic but something close.

"Hey, Uchiha," Kakashi greeted.

Itachi glanced at the trauma surgeon abruptly. He tensed, expecting Kakashi to glare at him, or in the very least give him that cold stare as he had done to Gaara. Kakashi did neither of those things. Instead, he simply erased a surgery off the board before filling in another.

Bemused, Itachi silently observed him, searching for any signs of hostility or anger. There was none. Itachi's confusion grew. Well that was unusual. As Sakura's self-appointed protector, Itachi had been certain Kakashi would be waiting for him. Or at the very least ready to tear into him at a moment's notice. Unless, Sakura hadn't told him. That was even more strange.

"Hatake," Itachi said slowly, "have you seen Sakura this morning?"

Kakashi gazed back at him curiously. He thought for a moment before he shook his head and looked back over the board. "I haven't seen her since last night. I think I saw her car this morning when I came in, though."

Itachi had too. Which is how he knew Sakura was here. Somewhere. Now if only he could find her.

"Have you talked to her at all?" Itachi pressed subtly.

Upon finding no errors in his work, Kakashi turned away from the board to face him. "About Gaara? She told me she was going to talk to him yesterday."

Bewildered, Itachi blinked. "What? She did?"

"She didn't tell you?" Kakashi asked equally surprised.

It suddenly occurred to Itachi why Sakura had shown up on his doorstep, all smiles and bursting with energy. She had stood up to her abuser. And she had come out victorious.

Itachi abruptly felt worse. "No, she didn't," he murmured.

Kakashi simply shrugged as he checked his pager. "Well, I'm sure she was going to. Knowing her, she got sucked into a case. You know how she is when she gets focused on something."

Itachi made a noncommittal noise as Kakashi left, hoping the trauma surgeon was right. Somehow, Itachi didn't think that was the case this time.

Still lost in thought, Itachi remained in front of the surgical board until his own pager went off. He pulled it off his hip quickly, trying and failing not to be disappointed when it wasn't Sakura's name that appeared on the screen. He was needed for a consult.

Finding Sakura would have to wait, but he couldn't resist giving the board one last glance, hoping beyond hope he might have missed her name the first time. He hadn't. An audible sigh passed his lips before he turned his back and walked away.

##

As it turned out, Itachi had been needed in the ER. What started as a consult had quickly turned into emergency surgery where he had found himself hands-deep in a woman's chest for nearly four hours. Surgeries like those normally gave him a high, left him with a rush after saving a woman's life. Only this time it didn't. His mind returned to Sakura the instant he left the OR. His phone still empty of any messages from her.

Itachi went searching for Sakura again, but just as it had been this morning, he had come up with nothing. No one had seen her all day. Frustration welled within him. Not at her, but for the simple fact she had so effectively vanished.

Had this been what Sakura felt like when Gaara left? Or when Itachi had returned to his old hospital for those two long months? If Sakura had felt even a fraction of what he was feeling now, he had never been so sorry. Itachi just wanted the opportunity to talk to her.

The sound of his pager drew Itachi out of his musings. Pulling his gaze from the window in the attendings' lounge, he snatched it up only to find it was a non-emergency page. His frustration surged again and in a short burst of anger, he threw it at the wall.

Shisui stopped short as he entered the lounge, gazing first at the nearly broken device laying on the floor at his feet before glancing at his cousin. "Was it something I said?"

Itachi shot his cousin an impatient look before his eyes fell out the window again. He rested his hands on the windowsill, his knuckles turning white under his strong grip.

Sensing Itachi was it no mood for games, Shisui bent down and picked the half-broken pager from the floor. He snapped the plastic pieces together before peering at his younger cousin in concern. "What happened?"

Itachi ground his teeth together in an attempt to control his anger. "Izumi showed up on my doorstep last night."

"What? Why?" Shisui asked, his eyes wide.

"I believe it was Sasuke's doing."

"Why would he send her here?"

Shaking his head, Itachi picked up his head and peered out into the distance, past the hospital parking lot, past the city and to the trees beyond. "I assume to try and get me to come home."

"Well obviously you're not going to," Shisui said. "I thought you told him that?"

"I did," Itachi replied so quickly he nearly spoke over his cousin.

Shisui frowned. It had been a long time since he had seen his younger cousin this upset. "So what happened with Izumi?" he pressed quietly.

"Nothing," Itachi said. He hung his head with an exhausted sigh. Then his grip on the windowsill tightened again. "At least until Sakura showed up."

"Does she know?"

"She left before I could explain. I have been trying to all day but…" Itachi trailed off and shook his head. "But she is ignoring me. And I cannot seem to find her."

Their conversation paused there. Itachi returned to staring blankly out the window, lost in his own thoughts. Shisui simply watched him, still rolling his cousin's pager around in his hands absently. It was hard to know what to say in situations like these. Even Shisui's normal teasing wouldn't be enough to cheer his cousin up. He felt helpless.

"Just when I think things may finally work out…" Itachi murmured.

Shisui frowned at his cousin's back, searching for the right words to bring him comfort. He never found them before Itachi's pager in his hands went off. He glanced down at it. "You should probably take this," Shisui told him.

A long moment passed before Itachi finally released his grip on the windowsill and straightened. He took his pager back from his cousin and read over the message.

There was still a frown on Itachi's mouth as he headed towards the door. Shisui stopped him just before he left. "Itachi," he called. Itachi paused in the doorway to glance back at him. Shisui offered him a comforting smile. "Sakura cares for you. Once she calms down, she'll listen."

Itachi said nothing, only inclined his head fractionally before he left. He wished he could believe Shisui, but his cousin didn't know Sakura's history like he did. Shisui hadn't been there - hadn't seen the look of utter betrayal on her face as she left. Itachi could only hope his cousin was right.

##

It was an hour before midnight when Sakura returned to the hospital. This late, the parking lot was empty, except for the cars belonging to the night shift and the surgeons who hadn't quite made it home. Her cab dropped her out front. She tipped the driver and collected her bag before she headed upstairs to the attendings' lounge.

A yawn passed Sakura's lips. It had been a long day. The only thing she wanted to do was retrieve her coat and car keys, and head home. Where her nice, comfortable bed was waiting for her.

"You're here late. Where were you today?"

Looking up from her phone, Sakura spotted Naruto sitting on one of the benches in the lounge. His own phone was in his hands, but he looked at her as she entered the room.

"Military hospital," Sakura replied. "They had a high risk valve replacement so they flew me out. My plane landed an hour ago."

Naruto made a noncommittal sound as he returned to his cell. "Did you tell Uchiha? I heard he was looking for you all day."

Sakura nearly scoffed. Of course he had. She wouldn't be surprised if he was outside her apartment right now waiting for her. Four missed phone calls and eight text messages later. She would have thought he would have gotten the hint by now.

"Might have slipped my mind," Sakura said casually. She grabbed her jacket from her chubby and slipped it on before she slowed to a pause.

Thinking of Itachi had landed her right back in that horrible mood she had been in since last night. She was angry - downright pissed off - but she was also hurt. So incredibly hurt. He had been sleeping with her and all along he had been promised to another woman.

A bone-deep ache throbbed in her chest. Sakura wanted to go home and cry. She also wanted to drown her sorrows in liquor. No reason she couldn't do both.

Turning back around, Sakura faced Naruto. "Are you off?"

The blonde pulled his gaze from his phone before nodding. "Yeah. Why?"

"Wanna go get a drink?"

Naruto considered the offer. Then he grinned. "Yeah. Actually that sounds awesome right now."

Sakura knew what that smile meant. It might only be Tuesday but they were going to drink like it was the weekend. Exactly what she needed.

##

When her cab pulled up to her stop, Sakura was nearly dozing in the back seat. She forced her eyes opened and had just enough thought to pay the driver before she slipped out and stumbled up to the front door of the quaint house.

The front porch was off. In the darkness, Sakura searched for her keys, cursing quietly when she couldn't find the right one. Somehow she eventually managed to find the key for her apartment, only to grow frustrated when it wouldn't fit into the lock. Annoyed, she jiggled the door handle only for it to turn easily. The door nearly slammed open.

Oh yeah. Kakashi always left his front door unlocked. Something that would be dangerous living in the heart of the city, if not for his unbeatable security system.

With the grace of an intoxicated surgeon, Sakura closed the door behind her before she slipped out of her boots. She fell against the wall, her shoulder loudly catching her weight as she struggled with the right one. A half-whispered curse escaped her, but eventually she managed to kick it aside.

As soon as it was off, she stepped around the corner. Only to come face-to-face with said security system.

Three large dogs sat side by side. They stood between her and the rest of the house. Large, intimidating shadows. They stood utterly still, ready to strike at the first sign of trouble. Sakura simply held her hand out towards the middle dog. He sniffed her cautiously before the tension drained away. His tail thumped against the floor happily in recognition. Smiling, she scratched the top of his head before she stepped past the dogs and made a beeline for the couch.

Too drunk care about anything else, Sakura fell asleep within seconds.

##

The distinctive plinking of a metal bowl filling with dog food drew Sakura from her sleep. She pulled her blanket over her head and tried to roll over only to find her legs trapped under a large, warm weight. Another pressed along her back, a third beside her pillow.

Upon that unmistakable call for food, all three weights vanished as the large dogs went for their breakfast. With the couch to herself, Sakura finally rolled over, in search of a more comfortable position. One that would chase away the pounding of her head and the nausea rising in the back of her throat. For a little while, she dozed, vaguely listening to Kakashi as he moved about the kitchen. The hiss of the coffeemaker, the retrieval of a mug from the cabinet and the opening and closing of the fridge.

At some point, Sakura resigned herself to the fact that she wasn't going to fall completely back into the blissfulness that was a deep sleep. With a long sigh, she threw the covers off and squinted against the light.

Sure enough, Kakashi was in his kitchen dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a dark grey wife beater. He had a cup of coffee in one hand while he bent down to replace a bowl of water on the floor. When he straightened, he glanced over and watched her approach.

"Good morning," he said, eyeing her.

Sakura ran a hand down her face, thankful he didn't say anything about her appearance. She was sure she looked terrible between her tangled hair and the makeup she still wore from last night. "What time is it?" she asked with a yawn.

"A little after four."

She didn't reply. At least not with words. Instead, she slipped into a stool at the bar and rested her face in her hands, a low, pained groan escaping her lips.

Kakashi sipped from his coffee, still watching her. "You are really hungover, aren't you?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm just still drunk," Sakura mumbled.

Pressing her eyes into her palms, Sakura willed her building headache to leave her in peace. Maybe last night hadn't been a great idea. But it had sounded so good at the time.

"Here, drink this."

Lowering her hands, she saw Kakashi had retrieved a glass of water for her. She flashed him a quick smile of thanks and drank a third of it before pressing the side of the cool glass to her aching forehead.

Their conversation lulled briefly. Sakura contemplated her life choices while Kakashi drank his coffee and studied her. Eventually he asked the question. "You going to tell me why you got shit-faced and ended up on my couch at two in the morning?"

Tears automatically welled in Sakura's eyes. She pinched them together, trying to keep her misery on the inside of her body, before she released a long sighed. One so deep it came from the soul.

"Itachi is married. Or at least engaged to be married," she murmured.

Kakashi just blinked, dumbfound. Like that had been the last thing he expected to come out of her mouth. Not that she could blame him. For Sakura had worn that same exact expression only two nights ago when she had met the other woman. Or rather, Sakura supposed she was the other woman, wasn't she?

"What?" Kakashi finally managed. "He didn't tell you?"

Lowering the water, Sakura glared. "Of course he didn't tell me!"

Flinching, Kakashi tried another direction. "Well...at least you two weren't sleep together," he offered. When she didn't quite meet his gaze, his shot her a look of surprise. "Wait, what. Since when?"

"Since that conference I went to last month." Sakura told him.

Her tears returned at the memory of them in that hotel room. Tangled in the sheets, mouths meeting and tasting only to separate between moans. Whoever was stabbing her in the chest with their scalpel, she really wished they would just stop.

"Gods, why does this keep happening to me?" she asked, raking her hands through her hair. "How do I keep ending up with these type of men? What's wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Sakura. This isn't your fault, no matter how much you think it is," Kakashi told her. He set his coffee aside to grab her wrist but she refused to look at him. "You just have the unfortunate luck of attracting the wrong type of guys."

"I can't do this anymore," she whispered.

A deep frown marred Kakashi's face. The utter heartbreak in her voice made his own chest ache. More than anything he wished he could relieve her of the pain she was feeling, but he knew there was nothing that could be done. He could only help her pick up the broken pieces.

"I know," Kakashi murmured just as gently. He rested his hand on her head as she buried her face in her hands. They remained that way for a little while before he eventually walked around the bar that separated them. "Come on," he nudged her. "Let's go deal with your hangover."

Without a word, Sakura let him pull her from the stool. She followed him further into the house, so numb and defeated that she followed his order to sit without complaint before he disappeared into the bathroom. In her misery, it took her a moment to realize she was in Kakashi's bedroom.

It had been years since the last time she had been here but it all still looked the same from the bland, grey walls to the faded, dark green comforter. The room itself was remarkably empty say for only a bookcase filled with medical textbooks along one wall and a desk along another. It was scattered with paperwork, the only pictures in the room on the nightstand beside her.

Trying to find anything to distract from the ache in her chest, Sakura peered at them absently. She did a double take when she realized one of the two photos was of her and Kakashi. They were both in scrubs, Sakura's light blue and Kakashi's darker to differentiate their rank, leaning over a hospital bed with a tired but smiling, little girl.

It had been during Sakura's intern year. The little girl whose father continued to insist there was something wrong with his daughter even when all test came back negative. And it had been a good thing the man fought so hard. For his daughter had come back with Kawasaki disease, a rare condition that causes inflammation in the coronary arteries.

"I was nearly fired this day," Sakura said when she heard Kakashi return.

She looked up when he didn't reply to find his arms full of medical supplies. A metal stand, an IV and a banana bag - just the thing that would give her enough fluids to combat her hangover. Automatically Sakura held her arm out to him when he sat beside her.

He peered at the picture. "You disobeyed two different attendings' orders."

"I saved a life."

"Which is the only reason you weren't fired," he countered.

He set up the equipment with practiced ease before he slipped the needle in her arm. Sakura hissed quietly. For being a surgeon, she was never a fan of needles being used on herself. Absently she rubbed at the insignificant ache. "Why this picture?"

Wordlessly Kakashi took the frame from her. He studied it a moment, as if weighing his answer. "Because it was also the day I knew you would make an excellent surgeon."

A genuine smile crossed Sakura's face as Kakashi replaced the picture on his nightstand. She stared at it for a moment longer before her eyes drifted to the picture beside it.

It was from a long time ago, years before Sakura had even met him. There was a woman in the center photo, Kakashi and another man's arms thrown over her shoulders. All three of them were dressed in military garb, a dusty, sandy desert stretching out behind them. It looked hot and uncomfortable, but they were all smiling. Like they hadn't a care in the world. Sakura couldn't ever remember seeing a happier smile on Kakashi's face.

"Are you ever going to tell me?" Sakura asked, glancing back at Kakashi. "About your time in the war?"

He blinked, genuinely surprised. "Why do you want to know about that?"

"Because you've never talked about it," she told him. When he remained quiet, she pressed gently. "Did...did your teammates die?"

Kakashi didn't immediately answer. Just stared at the wall unseeing. He was quiet for so long, Sakura thought he might not answer and she was just about to let the topic go all together when he finally murmured, "Their names were Rin and Obito. And yes, they were killed."

Another hollow ache settled deep in Sakura's chest. But this time it wasn't her own pain that tugged on her heartstrings, but rather his. He had lost those most important to him. Likely right before his eyes. As it was so common in the war.

Sakura couldn't say she was terribly surprised. She had guessed a long time ago that Kakashi had lost someone important to him. Assumed that was why he always kept everyone at arm's length and why so many of his nights were sleepless.

It had been a shock the first time Sakura had crashed in an on-call room only to wake to Kakashi struggling against unknown demons in his sleep. He had never wanted to talk about it, and she hadn't known him well enough to press. And as the years went on, she had found that all he wanted was silent company. Someone who would stay with him and not ask the uncomfortable questions he didn't want to answer.

Sakura offered her silent support now. Without speaking a word, she rested her head on his shoulder. It surprised her to find that the action not only comforted him but her as well. Two lonely people in a harsh, lonely world.

"No matter what happens, I promise I'll always be here," she murmured.

Kakashi was never one for words so she hadn't expect a reply. Instead, he rested his cheek against the crown of her head, each taking comfort in the other. If only all her relationships could be this easy. All so open and free of judgment.

They sat there a little while longer before Kakashi had to get ready for work. Without asking, Sakura slipped under his sheets and cocooned herself in the blankets, carefully of her IV. He came out of the shower to find her that way. "Just please don't throw up on my sheets," he told her as he dried his hair with a towel.

From under the blankets came Sakura's muffled reply, "No promises." Then she peeked her head out to smile. "But I do promise to clean it up if I do."

"Fine," Kakashi sighed before he tossed the blanket back over her head.

##

That morning when Itachi arrived at the hospital Kakashi was waiting for him. The trauma surgeon was leaning against his locker with his phone in hand, but his attention shifted to Itachi as he entered. His glare was indication enough that he knew.

"You talked to Sakura," Itachi said. He set his bag down in his cubby before facing the older surgeon.

Kakashi slipped his phone into the pocket of his scrubs before he crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought I warned you what would happen if you hurt her."

"I never meant to," Itachi said. And he meant that. He had never been so sorry about anything in his entire life. "She does not know the whole story."

"She knows enough of it."

"Not the important part," he countered. "Which is why I need to speak with her."

To his disappointment, Kakashi's glare only hardened. "If you have any decency left, Uchiha, you'll leave her alone."

Perhaps Kakashi was right. And if that was what Sakura wanted, Itachi would respect that. But he still needed to talk to her. He couldn't just walk away. Not until he at least explained. Itachi shook his head. "I can't."

Kakashi stilled then, his eyes widening as if the most outrageous thought just occurred to him. "Oh my…" he said, slowly fitting the pieces together. "You don't just care for Sakura, do you? You actually fell in love her. While you are bound to another woman."

Itachi looked away and didn't answer. Because the truth was he _had._ He didn't know how and he didn't know when. Only that now when he thought of the future, he wanted her in it. And right now, that future was slipping through his fingers, threatening to vanish forever.

"Where is Sakura?" Itachi asked quietly, unable to keep the desperation out of his voice.

Kakashi stared at him for an unpassing minute. "Unavailable," he said shortly, causing Itachi's shoulders to slump in disappointment. Then the trauma surgeon glanced at his watch. "But she'll be home in a few hours."

Itachi breathed a silent sigh of relief nonetheless before he nodded this thanks.

Kakashi ignored it. Simply pushed off his locker and swept past him. Only to pause when he reached the door. He turned to fix Itachi with a stern stare. "I swear to whatever god you believe in, Uchiha, if you do not make this right, I will make your life hell."

Itachi didn't doubt that for a minute. There was a hidden, dark edge to the trauma surgeon that peeked through in times like these. Like Kakashi could make someone disappear if he wanted. He was not someone one wanted as an enemy. And Itachi had no intention of making him one.

"Sakura told me about Gaara," Itachi said before Kakashi could leave. If the older man was surprised by that information, it didn't show on his face. Itachi continued nevertheless, "She told me what you did for her. How you helped her. I just want to say that no matter what happens between Sakura and I, please do not ever stop looking after her. She trusts you. More than anyone."

Kakashi looked away. He had always been hard to read but just this once it was obvious he was considering his next words carefully. When he turned back to Itachi, his face was passive once more. "Did you ever think, Uchiha, that perhaps the reason she is so hurt is because she trusts you too. And you betrayed that."

"I have never lied to her," Itachi said honestly.

"Then perhaps you should tell her that."

Then Kakashi was gone, leaving Itachi alone with his troubled thoughts.

For the rest of the day, Itachi couldn't get his mind off Sakura. Now that he knew she was finally home, it took all of his willpower not to drop everything to go see her. It was the longest day he could ever remember having.

When Itachi finally did arrive at Sakura's apartment, he was surprised to find he was nervous. Afraid that she would turn him away. Or perhaps she would listen to what he had to say but still tell him she was done. Itachi was aware just how much Sakura had been through in such a short time. He would understand if she couldn't handle any more. That being said, it didn't mean he wouldn't try like hell to convince her otherwise.

Taking a deep breath, Itachi knocked on Sakura's door. He waited with bated breath when the deadbolt slid out of place a minute later before it opened to reveal Sakura.

She was dressed down in a pair of shorts and a zipped up hoodie, but it was her eyes Itachi noticed. They were dull, that fierce spark gone from them. She looked like a woman who had gone through a large emotional rollercoaster in a short period of time. A shadow of her true self.

Sakura took one look at him before she swung the door closed.

Itachi caught it at the last second. "Sakura, wait. I am not married. Nor am I engaged. I never cheated and I never lied to you," he told her quickly.

She was no longer looking at him but neither was she actively trying to close the door on him. That was enough to give him hope.

"Please. Just let me explain."

There was a long moment of hesitation as Sakura considered what she was going to do. So long that Itachi thought she might still close the door on him anyway. But then, she stepped back, leaving the door open for him.

Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Itachi followed quickly and closed the door behind him. Sakura stopped a few steps from the door before she rounded to face him, her expression hard. She looked one wrong move from kicking him out.

"I want you to know that I never intended to hurt you," Itachi began softly.

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "You said you wanted to explain so explain. None of this 'it's complicated' crap. I want the truth, Itachi."

"The truth is I was engaged to Izumi," he admitted. "She is the Heiress to a large pharmaceutical company and had we married, our combined influences and finances would have put us at the top in the medical industry."

"So you were marrying for power," Sakura said, unable to hide her disapproval.

To her surprise, Itachi simply shook his head. "No. I wasn't," he said calmly. When a confused expression passed her face, he explained, "I met Izumi at a conference. It was never about business. It was just about the two of us. I had planned on spending the rest of my life with her. I thought she would be the mother of my children..." Itachi trailed off. The next words out of his mouth almost as painful as the day he had learned the truth.

"Until I learned her and my father had been planning on combining our families' finances from the very beginning."

Like snow in the sun, the anger melted off Sakura. She was still hurt and mad but she couldn't hold onto that burning rage. Not with Itachi standing there looking so lost. So heartbroken.

"She was in it for the money," she concluded.

Itachi nodded. He buried his hands into the pockets of his jacket, not quite meeting her gaze as he shrugged. "Perhaps she did love me. But at this point, it is too hard to tell the difference anymore."

"So you moved here to get away."

"Yes. And then I met you," Itachi said, looking at her again. "Ever since I was an intern, it seemed everywhere I went, my name was known. I have always been regarded with a certain level of respect...whether it was earned or not. In a way, I have become accustomed to people speaking my name as if they know me. But you...you never even once did so. In fact, you didn't even like me."

Sakura looked away and bit the inside of her lip, trying to hide her smile.

He couldn't help but smile faintly in return. "What I am trying to say is that you have always seen me for who I am. I don't have to pretend or put up a front with you. I am my most comfortable and my most happy when I am with you. There is no other person in the world that has ever made me feel like you make me feel."

Sakura stilled, her eyes slowly rising to meet his. He hadn't said the words outright but his meaning couldn't be any clearer. Her heart filled to bursting and broke at the same time. It couldn't be true.

Opening her mouth, she fought to find her words. In the end, she shook her head. "You can't honestly expect me to believe any of that so soon after breaking off your engagement with another woman."

Itachi blinked, obvious confusion passing his face. "I didn't just break off my engagement, Sakura. I ended my relationship with Izumi three weeks before I met you."

That information hit Sakura like a physical blow. She simply stared at Itachi as all that pent up anger slipped away in a single exhale. He really hadn't lied, she realized. It only made his declaration that more sincere. And she didn't know if that scared her or excited her.

"I…" Sakura shook her head slowly as she trailed off. She didn't know what to say. Mostly because she didn't know how to process any of this. So much had happened in such a short time. It was like she was running a marathon at a sprint and she just couldn't seem to catch her breath.

She settled for a redirect. "Then what was she doing here?"

Itachi sighed loudly. "As it turns out, Sasuke has a bigger mouth than when he was in med school," he said with a great deal of forced patience for his brother. "Something I spoke with him at great lengths last night."

That would explain how Izumi had known her name. And why she had shown up after so much time had passed. Had Sasuke pushed Izumi into believing her relationship with Itachi could be salvaged?

These thoughts swirled through Sakura's head but they vanished abruptly when she saw Itachi was still watching her. Her heat began to race again. She wondered what should she say. How should she respond. Their relationship had begun complicated with one of them always having one foot out the door. Now, however, Itachi was standing before her, all his card laid out in front of her. It was her move. And she didn't know what to do.

Itachi, who could somehow always read her so easily, sensed this. He stepped toward her, his fingers ghosting along her jaw as if trying to calm the storm raging in her mind. "I am not looking for you to say anything. I am simply telling you how I feel. I told you before that I am not going anywhere. I can wait for whatever you decide."

His fingers trailed down the column of her throat to rest upon her pulse point. Featherlight touches that made her skin tingle in the best kind of way. He held her gaze and for one breath-holding moment, she thought he was going to kiss her.

He didn't.

Just like that, he withdrew from her and stepped away. "Let me know when you have your answer," he murmured.

Her mind still spinning, Sakura watched as Itachi turned to leave. She reached out for him before she even realized she was moving, her fingers grasping the sleeve of his jacket. Itachi glanced back at her but she wasn't looking at him. Her gaze fixed at some point near his shoulder. A strange expression on her face like she didn't know if she had meant to stop him or not.

"Just...stay," Sakura said so quietly it was nearly a whisper.

Not a reply to his declaration. But also not pushing him away. Just a truce while she sorted out her own thoughts.

When she finally raised her eyes to met his, she no longer looked uncertain. Just a little anxious of what would happen next. It was so endearing Itachi couldn't help himself. He cupped her face before he bent his head and kissed her. Soft and slow.

Sakura responded briefly, her fingers clutching at the material of his shirt. Neither of them spoke when she buried her face into the crook of his neck. Itachi merely held her, one hand cupping the back of her neck while the other tightened around her shoulders.

It was a long while before either of them moved.

_**to be continued...** _


	20. Chapter 20

_**Where it Happened  
part xx** _

It was still an hour before Sakura's alarm was set to go off when she slipped out of bed. Careful of the sleeping body next to her, she made as little noise as possible. Itachi barely stirred. Only pulling the arm that had been wrapped around her waist back under the blankets.

He looked so content and peaceful, wrapped up in her sheets with his hair splayed over her pillow. Sakura couldn't resist watching him as she slipped on her robe. A faint smile caressed her lips. She was half tempted to kiss him but refrained, not wanting to disturb him. He had worked late. Stumbling through the door sometime after one.

Eventually Sakura padded out of her bedroom, leaving the door partially cracked behind her. In the kitchen, the coffee maker hissed as it sputtered to life. She poured herself a mug and added enough cream and sugar to sweeten it the way she liked before she wandered towards the living room.

The sun was just beginning its long climb over the horizon. Morning sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting long strips of light across the floor and illuminating the room with a warm glow. Sakura stopped just at the edge of the closest beam, where the kitchen tile gave way to smooth wood.

Her eyes wandered over the familiar space. To the television that hung on the far wall and the couch that sat across from it. Her favorite blanket was strewn haphazardly across the back where she had left it before going to bed the night before. On the far side of the room was the desk where she kept her bills. It was in need of attention, as was the bookshelf with all her textbooks. Half of which had been shoved back onto the shelves in a hurry.

Everything was as it always was. And yet something had changed. Nothing was out of place but the comfort _home_ had once brought her was gone. It was cold. Alien. Like she was living in a space that was not her own.

Sakura didn't know when it had started. Maybe the day Gaara had left. Maybe the day he had returned. This place held memories of him. Not many for he never liked to spend time on this side of town. But the person she had once been had lived here, not the person she was now.

That's how Itachi found her some time later. She stood at the window, gazing out upon the view as she sipped her lukewarm coffee. His arms slid around her middle as he planted a kiss to the side of her head. "Morning."

Sakura hummed her reply, her gaze distant in thought. She offered him her mug without looking at him.

Itachi accepted it but didn't immediately drink from it as he studied her profile. "Are you alright?" he asked before taking a sip.

Blinking, Sakura pulled herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah," she said.

He didn't speak, simply handed her coffee back as he waited for her to voice her thoughts.

She sipped from her mug before saying, "I'm going to sell this place."

Whether consciously done or not, Itachi's arm tightened minutely around her waist. "And go where?"

"I don't know yet. Maybe somewhere with a view of the water. Somewhere near the hospital," she told him, resting her free hand over his arm. "I just need to get out of here. I hate this place."

He made a noncommittal noise as he pulled her closer again, his chin resting atop her head. Several minutes passed that way before he spoke again. His voice so soft and yet so clear. "You could move in with me."

Sakura stilled. Then she turned in the circle of his arms to face him. "What?"

"You practically live there already. This is the first time we've slept here in a week. Half your clothes are already in my closet and it does not make sense to spend money on a place you are rarely at," he shrugged. Then he added more quietly, like he needed more reasons to convince her, "And I want to share a place with you. A place we can call our own."

A little thrown, she just stared. Itachi had been saying little things like this ever since he had told her he loved her a few weeks ago. So smooth and seamless, she nearly missed them every time. It made her heart beat a little faster each time, and now was no different. Only she didn't quite know what to say.

When Sakura tried and failed to say something for the third time, Itachi merely smiled at her and tucked her hair behind her ear. "It is okay to say no, Sakura. I won't be upset. As long as you are happy."

Automatically she leaned into his touch. If only he knew how much she wanted to say yes. How nice it would be to spend every morning like this. But her past was always there, always tugging on her. "I'm not saying no," she said eventually. "I just...can I have more time to think about it?"

"Of course. Take all the time you want. And even if you do say no, the offer will always be open," he told her with a warm smile. "Just think about it and let me know what you decide."

He pressed a short kiss to her lips before he pulled away to get ready for work. Sakura knew she should do the same, but she made no immediate move to follow him. How one man could be so patient and understanding, she didn't know. Itachi was…well he wasn't perfect but he was certainly good for her. That much she knew. So why was it so hard for her to just say yes to him?

She needed to talk to Ino, she realized.

And that's exactly what Sakura did.

As soon as rounds were done, she found the blonde general surgeon. Ino had just finished signing off a chart and placed it on the rack beside the rest when Sakura grabbed her elbow and steered her into a nearby conference room.

Bewildered, Ino stared wide eyed. "Uh, you alright?"

"I need your opinion," Sakura told her after she closed the door behind them. "And for you to understand, I need to tell you a few things."

Just like that, Sakura launched into it. She told Ino everything. From hooking up with Itachi in that hotel room to the incident with Gaara. How she stayed with Itachi for nearly a week only to learn about his fiance. Then nearly drinking herself stupid and crashing on Kakashi's couch before Itachi showed up at her apartment to tell her he loved her. And lastly how he had asked her to move in just that morning.

Ino listened with rapt attention, her eyes growing wider and wider with every new development. When Sakura finally finished, she was nearly breathless and Ino was looking like someone had just dropped the biggest bombshell on her she had ever heard. Which was likely close to the truth.

For the first time, the blonde was speechless. It took her a couple of attempts to find her words. "You're telling me all this happened in the last three months?"

"More like the last month and a half," she admitted quietly.

Ino shot her an incredulous look before she shook her head, slowly taking everything in. "Now I wish Gaara hadn't left town so quickly. I would have strapped him to an OR table and dissected him piece by piece. You should file a police report against him, Sakura. If he ever comes back-"

"He won't. And even if he does, I already submitted a notarized affidavit with my attorney," she murmured. She tried not to think about Gaara. She wanted him to stay in her past where he belonged but she couldn't resist running her tongue over the healed cut on the inside of her lip.

Ino frowned unhappily but for once let it go. "So what do you want my opinion on?"

"I wanna know what I should do," Sakura said like it was obvious. She ran her fingers through her hair, her mind racing. "I mean Itachi, he's…he's great. He's so smart - smarter than me - but not arrogant. He's kind and he has this quiet sense of humor. And he can cook! Like it's kinda ridiculous actually. He can make these pan-seared lamb chops that are to die for."

"Is the sex good?" Ino asked.

"Earth-shattering," Sakura said without exaggeration, causing both women to laugh. Then Sakura released a long breath, sombering some. "It just...it's like he's seen all the good and bad, and yet he still cares about me."

"Well," Ino said, failing to bite back her smile, "it sounds like you already know what you want to do. You're just trying to figure out how to say it."

"So then how do I say it?" Sakura asked.

The blonde just shook her head, smile still in place. "I can't help you with that, Forehead. You're going to have to figure that one out yourself." When the uncertain look on Sakura's face remained, Ino relented just a little. "Just tell him what you told me."

"I don't know how…" Sakura shook her head.

"Just talk to him. It'll come to you. There's no reason for you to be afraid with Itachi."

With her smile still in place, Ino drew her into a hug. For as bright and bubbly as she was, Ino was not a physically affectionate person. The simple action took Sakura by surprise but she found that it helped soothe her fraying nerves. She managed a weak smile before the blonde left for surgery.

Feeling better, Sakura slipped out of the conference room. There were a million things waiting for her on her desk that morning but she couldn't bring herself to rush. Emotionally, she felt better than she had in months. And it showed in the way she strolled through the hospital unhurriedly.

The lobby was already filling with people for the day. There was a line at the coffee cart. The coffee machine hissed softly as it brewed shots of caffeine. A small group dressed in street clothes stood at the hospital map while doctors and visitors alike weaved their way through the growing crowd.

Sakura stopped on the landing overlooking the large room, her hands in her pockets. Her eyes scanned the crowd without purpose, but she took a second look when she recognized a familiar head of black hair. _Shizune._ She had come back. And judging by the elevator she was waiting for she was heading towards Tsunade's office.

A smile caressed Sakura's lips. She hoped that was a good sign.

"Good morning, Haruno."

Pulling her gaze from Shizune, Sakura turned her head as Neji passed behind her. "Hey, Hyuuga, do you have a sec?"

The Neurosurgeon was texting but he stopped walking and half turned towards her. He finished sending off his message before he looked up. "I have to prep for surgery soon, but I have a few minutes to spare."

"I won't be long," Sakura smiled, facing him fully. "I still haven't apologized for overstepping on that patient with the bullet. I just want you to know that I respect you and your position as Head of the Department. I'm sorry for dismissing your orders."

"I admit I was angry, but you did what was best for the patient," he shrugged. "Dr. Sunano is a very capable surgeon and there are not many that could have done what he did."

Sakura didn't immediately reply. She wasn't dumb and neither was Neji. He had seen her face the same week Gaara had disappeared without a word to anyone. Even her best makeup hadn't been enough to cover the bruises. Anyone watching would have easily connected the dots.

"I know you know what happened, Neji," Sakura said, lowering her voice as a couple of interns hurried past. "You don't have to forgive me because of what he did."

To her surprise, Neji smiled faintly. "I'm not forgiving you because I pity you, Sakura. I am letting it go because I am over it. We're fine."

The honesty in his voice finally eased Sakura's worries. She matched his smile with one of her own before Neji excused himself.

Today was turning out to be a better day than Sakura anticipated. The only thing that would improve it further was a good, bloody surgery - one pressing enough that she could ignore the mountain of paperwork on her desk. Which unfortunately did not happen.

For the entire day, Sakura sat behind her desk, sorting through documents and replying to emails until the sky outside turned dark. Her pager sat on the desktop beside her monitor, unusually quiet as if the universe knew she needed a day alone to catch up on her work. A downfall of being on the board.

Sakura was still working when Itachi entered the office a few hours later. She didn't see or hear him, but she sure smelt him as the most mouthwatering scent reached her nose. She turned away from her half-finished email just as Itachi sat on the couch behind her and unwrapped a large burger. It was bursting with cheese and bacon and all sorts of unhealthy things.

Sakura eyed it jealously. "You know that'll kill you, right?"

"I have been in surgery all day. This is the first thing I have eaten in ten hours. I don't care."

She couldn't help her smile as he bit off a large, pointed mouthful. She watched him for a moment before eventually caving. She hadn't eaten much either. "Alright, give me a bite."

Without getting up from her chair, Sakura leaned over and accepted the burger from him. It was huge. Big enough that she had to hold it in both hands. It was even more amazing than it looked.

She let out an appreciative hum as the rich flavors coated her tongue. "Okay, that's delicious. There's no way that came from our cafeteria. Where did you get that?" she asked, reluctantly handing it back.

Itachi wiped the corner of his mouth before answering, "The bar across the street. I had an intern run and get me one."

"You know that's not what interns are for."

"My apologies, Ms. Board Member," he retorted good-naturedly. Then he shrugged. "They didn't seem to mind. I gave them enough money to buy themselves one too."

Sakura shook her head with a soft laugh before she turned back to her computer. She returned to her email, tucking one leg under her as she finished writing it and sent it off.

For the next few minutes, the office was quiet with the exception of her fingers over her keyboard. She responded to a handful more emails as Itachi finished his dinner. His wrapper crinkled before he spoke, "What are you working on?"

"Boring hospital stuff," Sakura replied without looking at him.

She shuffled through the stack of documents on her desk, looking for the spreadsheet that listed the residents' hours from the week previous. Apparently the Board Director was becoming concerned with liability issues in the OR. He wanted to implement a new policy dictating anyone over eighty hours was not allowed in the operating room. Which was going to be hard since most of them averaged at about a hundred.

"Just be glad you're not on the board. Too many politics and way too much paperwork."

"Well if you want a break I have a triple bypass surgery in an hour," Itachi said as he stood.

Humming faintly, Sakura considered the offer. It would be nice to get up and stretch her legs. She had been sitting for a good portion of the day. But her inbox was still full of emails and as much as she wished, they wouldn't answer themselves.

"Sounds like fun but I can't," she sighed. "But if you get a good surgery tomorrow, I will definitely steal it."

Itachi stopped beside her desk and smirked down at her. "You will, will you?"

"I'm Ms. Board Member, remember?" Sakura retorted with a smile.

He chuckled before he bent his head to place a short kiss to her lips.

She was still smiling when he straightened. "You taste like cheeseburger," she complained.

"Well you did say it was delicious."

"Get outta here," Sakura laughed, pushing him away.

Itachi smirked again as he made his way towards the door. "My surgery will take a couple of hours. I probably won't be out of here until late. Come scrub in if you decide you get bored."

Sakura nodded before he left. She continued to stare at the doorway a few minutes after he was gone, her earlier conversation with Ino running through her head. It seemed both she and Itachi wouldn't be leaving until late. Maybe tonight when they got home she would talk to him and give him her answer. To everything.

The thought both thrilled her and made her tremble with nerves. When was the last time she felt like this? Never, she realized. Because just as Itachi had said, she had never felt this way with anyone before either. It was equal parts exciting and terrifying. To be so emotionally invested in someone, knowing that he could hurt her with just a few, simple words. Not that Sakura thought he would. Ino said there was no reason to be afraid of Itachi and Sakura wasn't. The level of trust she held in him rivaled anyone she had before.

Pulling herself out of her thought, Sakura forced herself to focus. She could sit here and think about what she was going to say to Itachi all night, but she couldn't. Not if she wanted to get out of here. With that end goal in mind, she went back to her work.

Sakura answered emails and sorted paperwork for while longer until her calves began to cramp and her eyes ached. She had gotten through a majority today. The rest could wait.

After shutting down her computer, Sakura headed down to the surgical floor. She stretched her legs as she scanned the OR board, a small smile crossing her lips when she found Itachi's name. Down in OR 3's washroom, she pulled her hair up into a secure bun before she scrubbed in.

Itachi glanced up upon her entrance. "Couldn't stay away, could you?"

Sakura smiled beneath her mask as she accepted her gloves and gown from the surgical nurses. "I just thought a rookie like you might need my expertise," she teased.

He just chuckled faintly and gestured to the empty space on the other side of the table before his gaze returned to his work.

Still smiling, she stepped up and accepted her tools from the scrub nurse. It was then that she heard music playing faintly in the background. "You listen to 90's?" she asked in surprise.

Itachi cocked a quizzical brow. "What did you think I listened to?"

Shrugging, Sakura suctioned blood out of his workspace. "I took you for someone who enjoys older hits. 60's. Maybe 50's."

"Are you calling me old?" he asked flatly but there was amusement in his dark eyes.

"Maybe."

He shot her a look, one that promised things to come that night. She answered with another playful smile before they returned to the task at hand.

For as serious as triple bypass was, the surgery itself was rather uneventful. There were no surprises. Everything ran smooth. Sakura's only complaint was the soreness in her calf hadn't gone away. She should have known better than to sit with it crossed under her for so long.

It was a relief when they finally finished up. Sakura was tired and sore and really just wanted to go home and sleep. She smiled faintly when she thought of having Itachi wrapped all around her in his sheets. Wondered when it had become easier for her to sleep with him there.

"Are you done for the day?" Itachi asked.

On the bench just outside the scrub room, Sakura finished re-tying her shoe before she looked up at him. "Yeah, I'm tired," she told him with a yawn. "I just want to go home."

"Do you want me to meet you at your place?"

Smiling softly, she was going to tell him no. That she wanted to go to his condo where his bed was warmer, more comfortable - more like home. But she never found her voice as a sudden, piercing pain ripped through her chest. Her smile slipped off her face as the stabbing pressure stole the breath from her lungs.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Itachi asked. He was kneeling before her in an instant.

Pressing her palm to her sternum, she opened her mouth. Nothing came out. She couldn't talk. Even the simple act of breathing was torturous.

Itachi took her face in his hands, his fingers pressing into her pulse point. He said something, but the words fell on deaf ears. Her only focus on the frightening reality that something was very seriously wrong. Was she...was she having a heart attack?

Sakura held on as long as she could, forcing her mind to slow down and fight against her rising panic, but she couldn't breathe. Not when every inhale felt like her lungs were shredding. Her vision tunnelled and darkened, and she pitched forward.

In and out, Sakura faded. Itachi barked out orders, but she more felt the words rumble in his chest than heard them. At some point, she woke again. This time on her back atop a gurney, an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose as the bright overhead lights flickered by rapidly. The pressure in her chest was still there, a heavy weight like someone had wrapped their mighty hands around her ribcage and was squeezing with the intent of making it explode.

With an agonizing groan, Sakura reached for the mask but a hand pulled her fingers away. Someone said her name but she couldn't make out anything else, like words whispered through water.

Too weak to fight, Sakura's arm fell limp and she succumbed to the darkness again.

_**to be continued...** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, it is a Grey's Anatomy AU...I'll see myself out.


	21. Chapter 21

_**Where it Happened  
part xxi** _

"Time of death: 0322."

Itachi's words rang clearly. Only punctuated by the steady flatline filling the otherwise quiet hospital room. He tried to ignore the way that single note echoed the hollowness ringing in his own chest. Like it was his own heart failing him.

The rest of the staff remained silent as they watched him. Waiting for what would happen next. Without a word, Itachi turned to the nurse beside him. He accepted the chart and signed off his name before he slipped out the trauma room without another word.

Up on the Cardiac Ward, all was quiet. This early in the morning there was only a handful of hospital employees. The charge nurse was behind the desk, observing vitals on the large, dual screen monitors. She glanced up upon his approach and handed him another chart without prompt.

"No change," was all she said.

Itachi said nothing before he headed into the room directly behind him.

It was utterly still. Everything exactly how he had left it less than an hour before. Only the heart monitor in the corner gave life to the otherwise stagnant air. Itachi stared at it unblinking. As if daring it to stop.

He didn't know how long he stood at the foot of the hospital bed, his eyes drifting from Sakura's still, still form to the heart monitor and back. She hadn't stirred, her figure so unmoving that he had to check the machine tracking her vitals again just to be sure she was still alive.

_Still alive._

That single phrase was enough to make his own heart stop. Turn his blood to ice. Make his knees weak and collapse to the floor. Itachi didn't. He continued to observe the monitor silently.

At least until movement caught out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to find the sliding, glass door to the room lined with surgeons. Tsunade, Kakashi, Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto, Tenten, even Neji were all there. Surprising considering morning rounds were still an hour away. Half the surgeons were in street clothes. All were sporting worried expressions.

Steeling himself, Itachi peered at Sakura one last time. Still alive. Then he grabbed her chart and slipped out of the room. He closed the door behind him and held up his hand before any of them could speak. "She is still unconscious but stable," he told them quietly.

A collective sigh of relief swept through the group. The tension, however, still lingered. Questions of how and why and what were all playing on the tips of their tongues, but Tsunade was the first to speak. "What happened?"

"Sakura had a Pulmonary Embolism. It started as Deep Vein Thrombosis but the blood clot that formed in her leg dislodged and went through her heart and into her lungs," he explained. "I performed an ultrasound and found another clot behind her knee that was significantly larger. Had that one followed the same path as the first, she likely would not have survived."

If anyone noticed how his voice began to betray him at the end, no one hinted at it. Everyone seemed to be in varying states of shock. They were all surgeons here. They all understood the medicine, but it didn't make it any easier to process.

Itachi cleared his throat before continuing, "I have started her on an emergency thrombolytics to break down the clot, and I will keep her under close surveillance until it is gone."

Ino shook her head slowly. "I spoke with Sakura this morning. She was fine," she said. Her voice wavered slightly, prompting Shikamaru to rest a comforting hand between her shoulder blades. "How could a clot have formed that quickly?"

"She was at her desk most of the day," Itachi said.

"If she has a clotting disorder, sitting for that long could cause one to form," Kakashi murmured. His gaze turned from Sakura's unmoving form through the glass to look at Itachi. "What were her coags at?"

"Well outside the norm," Itachi told him.

There were still a few labs to review but it was looking more and more like Sakura had a blood disorder. She would have to take blood thinners the rest of her life. A discussion he would need to have with her when she woke up.

"Sakura doesn't have any family history, does she?"

At some point, Itachi's eyes had automatically drifted back to Sakura, but he glanced at Ino upon her question. Only to find she wasn't looking at him. Tsunade shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted quietly, like she was disappointed in herself for not knowing. "She's never said anything. Have we gotten all her labs back?"

"There are still a few I'm waiting on," Itachi said when the Chief turned to him. "But we should have more answers soon."

They all fell quiet after that, each in their thoughts. The combined worry, though lessened, hadn't faded completely from the small group. It lingered over them like the quiet after a storm when the worst had passed but the sun hadn't yet begun to peek out through the dark clouds.

This time it was Naruto who broke the quiet. "Someone should stay with her until she wakes up."

To Itachi's surprise, almost all eyes fell to him. He didn't know if it was because they were aware of his relationship with Sakura or just because he was the Head of Cardio. Likely a combination depending upon the person. Itachi wished he could but with Sakura out so suddenly, his workload was suddenly doubled.

"I have to see to Sakura's cases," he said.

"I'll stay with her," Kakashi offered without missing a beat. "It's my day off anyway."

The trauma surgeon met Itachi's gaze evenly, silent understanding passing between them. Itachi had the utmost respect for every surgeon gathered, but he only trusted Kakashi to watch over Sakura in his stead. She would be safe with him.

Itachi left the Cardiac Ward after that. He needed to head back to the office to check Sakura's schedule, but he found his feet heading in a different direction. He walked without purpose as his thoughts filled with all the _what-ifs_ he had pushed to the back of his mind while he fought for Sakura's life. He didn't stop until he was out the front doors of the hospital.

There, the cool morning air washed over him. Each inhale of icy breath was almost painful in his lungs, but he didn't care. It helped distract from the agony growing deep in his chest.

For the first time in his life, Itachi's hands shook. He stared down at them and clenched them into tight fists, trying like hell to fight the wave of emotion threatening to overcome him. Sakura was out of danger, he had to remind himself. _But she could have died._

Thirty percent of patients with similar symptoms and circumstances as Sakura's had died. And while thirty percent wasn't the highest rate of mortality, they also weren't the lowest. Things could have gone much differently and it was that cold, hard reality that settled in his chest, making each heartbeat a little more painful than the last.

Hasty footsteps reached Itachi's ears a moment before Shisui spoke. His voice was a little breathless, like he had just run from the parking lot, "I came as soon as I got your message. How is Sakura?" His cousin took one look at Itachi's face and paled. "No, she didn't…"

"She's alive and stable," Itachi clarified.

Relief passed over Shisui's face before confusion took its place. "Then what…?"

Itachi gripped the metal back of one of the benches lining the path to the hospital doors. It was chilled under his hands and unyielding. He rung it harder. "She almost wasn't."

His words broke in the middle. Like they couldn't contain the weight of emotion behind them. Shisui just stared, a little lost at seeing his normally resilient cousin look so distressed. He hadn't seen him this affected since his heart surgery when they were kids.

"Hey," Shisui said gently, resting a comforting hand on Itachi's back. "It's okay. She's okay. She's alright."

Itachi pinched his eyes shut and nodded, unable to keep a few tears from escaping the corners of his eyes. Shisui didn't say anything as his younger cousin drew a handful of ragged breaths, only continued to rub soothing circles against his back. Both as a means to comfort him and fight off the early morning air seeping into his scrubs.

It was some minutes later before Itachi pulled himself together. He took a controlled, albeit shaky breath before he wiped his face and straightened.

Shisui dropped his hand but continued to watch him. "You good?" he asked not unkindly.

Itachi nodded. "Yeah," he said. He raked his fingers through his bangs without glancing at his cousin. "I should head back inside. I have a lot of work to do today."

Shisui said nothing as Itachi turned back to the hospital. The Plastics surgeon couldn't help but remember the time all those years ago when they were young and just kids. When Shisui had been stuck in a hospital bed with a failing heart and Itachi had spent every minute he could spare by his side.

Itachi was the greatest friend - greatest _family_ \- one could ever have. It nearly broke Shisui's heart to see him so dejected. He only wished there was something he could do to help.

Like a light bulb flickering on, Shisui realized there _was_. After months of pressing the Chief, she had finally caved and agreed to stretch the hospital budget to hire him full-time. He was officially employed now. Which meant he had the authority to use the interns and residents as he saw fit. And they were all needed in Cardio today.

It was time Shisui had his cousin's back like Itachi always had his.

"Itachi," Shisui called, chasing after him. That weary look was still on Itachi's face when he caught up. Shisui rested a supportive hand on his younger cousin's shoulder. "Tell me what you need today. Anything. I'll make sure it gets done."

##

Sakura awoke groggily. It was a slow pull out of unconsciousness. Like the kind when she roused after too many hours in the OR and too few in bed. Her limbs were weighted like stone, her eyelids even heavier. The pressure in her lungs, though no longer unbearable, was still there. A low groan rumbled deep in her chest.

"Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Even still out of it, Sakura would recognize Kakashi's voice anywhere. She heard the muffled scrape of the chair against the tiles before he rested his hand on hers. "Horrible," she murmured. "What happened?"

With her free hand, Sakura slipped her fingers under the familiar fabric of a hospital gown to gently trace the smooth skin of her chest. She breathed a soft sigh of relief when there were no surgical incisions sliced into her body or broken ribs. They hadn't had to revive her.

"You had a DVT which evolved into a PE," Kakashi told her.

 _Ah, that made more sense than a heart attack._ That would explain the stiffness in her calf, why it had hurt so terribly much to breath and why her chest still ached. There was a blood clot in her lung.

Finally forcing her eyes open, Sakura blinked a few times before she focused on the ceiling. It was cast into shadows but not overly dark. Judging by the light streaming through the gaps in the closed blinds it was daytime.

It took her a moment to realize she recognized this room. Only normally she was the one standing at the foot of the bed while the patient laid where she was now. The rest of the Cardiac Ward was currently blocked from her view, the curtain drawn over the door for privacy. That she was thankful for. She didn't need the entire hospital seeing her like this.

Finally she turned to peer at Kakashi. There was a strange look on his face. A mix of deep concern and incredible relief. She shot him a reassuring smile even as the ache in her chest continued.

"I had a pulmonary embolism," she repeated softly.

His fingers tightened around hers. His own form of assurance. "Your blood tests indicate you have a clotting disorder. Itachi has you on clot busters, but you'll have to take blood thinners the rest of your life."

Sakura nodded, slowly absorbing all the information, but she didn't say anything. She still felt so sluggish, so weak. It would be so easy to just fall back into the weightlessness of sleep.

"Sakura," Kakashi began slowly, "do you have a family history?"

She heard his hesitation, like he didn't know if he was asking too much. Didn't know if he was overstepping by prying for her personal information. A little ironic considering he was the closest thing to family she had. Besides maybe Tsunade.

Still, Sakura was slow to answer. "My mother had a blood disorder."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Wait, you knew you had a condition? Sakura, why didn't you get treatment? You work - you _own_ part of a hospital."

"Don't yell at me," she frowned.

Immediately his expression cooled but his anxiety-fueled frustration still lingered in his eyes.

"I didn't know," Sakura admitted. "I never got tested."

Kakashi looked like he wanted to chastise her again but he refrained with a sigh. Instead, he brushed a few hairs away from her face with the hand not still clasped around her own. "You're lucky Itachi was there."

Sakura's chest throbbed again but this time it had nothing to do with her current condition. Blood clots were frightening enough but for her to collapse on him like that...

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Doing a consult, I think. He's covering your cases so don't worry about those," Kakashi told her. "He stopped by a little while ago to check in."

"I want to see him."

Kakashi's smile widened faintly with understanding. "I'll have the nurse page him. Just rest for now, okay. We've got you."

Sakura smile her thanks before her eyes drifted closed. The last thing she felt was Kakashi's thumb rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand before she slowly sank back down into the comfort that was sleep.

##

When Sakura woke again, Kakashi was gone but she wasn't alone. The room was darker than before, the light peeking between the blinds dim like sunset had just passed. The curtain over the door was cracked now, letting a sliver of artificial light slice across the tiled floor.

Itachi was sitting in the same chair Kakashi had been. Only now it was pushed back some feet, out of the way in case of an emergency. Itachi had one leg folded over his lap, his cheek pressed to his fist. He was simply watching her. An utterly unreadable expression on his face.

Sakura smiled softly, a warm but unnameable emotion filling her. "Hey," she murmured, her voice rough with sleep. She cleared her throat lightly.

Itachi took his cue. He stood to retrieve some water for her, filling the plastic cup provided by the hospital with the pitcher left on the stand beside the bed. She drank her fill and handed it back to him before she relaxed back against the pillows.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Sakura rubbed her palm against her sternum as she inhaled slowly. "It still hurts a little to breathe."

"The meds might take some time to break down the clot," he told her needlessly. "But I can prescribe you some pain medication until then-"

"No," Sakura said.

She made to grab him but without her normal strength, her fingertips merely grazed his forearm. Itachi stopped nevertheless and gazed down at her. She reached for him again, her fingers gently grasping the hem of his scrub shirt.

"Please don't leave."

He looked like he still wanted to get her something to ease her pain but eventually relented. Grabbing the chair, he pulled it closer. Close enough that Sakura could reach out and touch him if she wanted. And she did. She rested her hand on his forearm, enjoying the gentle warmth of his skin against her cooler fingers.

It always amazed her how much warmer he was than her. How much strength his body held and yet how gently he could suture a heart. How he was so smart and so humble. How he had faced his own battles and heartbreak and still held so much affection for her.

Itachi was still watching her when she raised her eyes to his. She only had flashes of what had happened, but if there was one thing she was sure of it was that Itachi had been there. The whole time.

"You were there when I needed you most. There isn't anyone I trust more to have had me," she said softly, as if afraid if she spoke any louder all her other emotions would drown out her sincerity. "Thank you."

That unreadable expression of his slowly cracked piece by piece. A furrow appeared between his brows before a frown tugged the corners of his mouth down. That was all Sakura saw before Itachi was suddenly standing over her, his mouth sealed to hers.

Surprised, she sat wide-eyed before her eyes eventually slipped closed. She was sure she had horrible breath, but none of that seemed to matter to Itachi. He kissed her hard, demanding. His fingers dug into her hair a little too sharply and his lips moved a bit rough against hers but Sakura didn't complain. There was so much emotion. Some of which she understood. Some she didn't. She kissed him back regardless. Pressure built in her chest again, overwhelming and aching.

When Itachi finally pulled back, he lowered himself to sit on the edge of the bed, his thigh pressing into her hip through the sheets. Emotion welled in Sakura's chest and threatened to spill out as tears gathered in her eyes. He merely brushed his thumb over one that escaped down her cheek. Smiling softly, she leaned into his touch.

"You cannot do that to me again," Itachi murmured. "I promised you I am not going anywhere, but you cannot either."

It was then that Sakura placed that look on his face. It was _fear_.

She could only imagine what she had put him through, abruptly collapsing on him like that. The last twenty-four hours must have been hell judging by the exhaustion and stress etched into his face.

Sakura reached out for him, taking his own face in her palm. "The only place I'm going is home with you when I leave here."

"You don't have to rush, Sakura," he told her, shaking his head. He pressed his hand over hers where it rested against his jaw. "You have gone through a lot in the last day. You can decide later. After you've recovered and you've had time to think-"

"I already made my decision. Before all of this," she said, her other hand vaguely gesturing at all the medical equipment. Silently she thanked whichever staff member had silenced her heart monitor for she didn't doubt the machine was tracking her steadily increasing pulse.

"I want to move in with you," she said. "I want to wake up every morning to you and I want to be late to work because neither of us wants to get out of bed. I want to make out with you on the couch and stay up all night in surgery with you. I want to share a bottle of wine and swap surgical stories. I just...I love you," she told him with unwavering certainty. "I want it all. And I want it with you."

Her heart was in her throat but her hands had never been steadier as the most loving smile she had ever seen spread across Itachi's face. "And you will," he murmured gently. "Let's get you better first. And then I will bring you home."

He kissed her forehead before he reluctantly caved into her pleading and climbed into the hospital bed beside her. They were both so exhausted, so worn down from everything that had happened in the last day - the last _month_. They were asleep within minutes. Her face pressed into the side of his neck, his arms wrapped securely around her.

And that was how they stayed until the nurse found them the next morning.

##

_Eight weeks later..._

A moan slipped out of Sakura's lips. She steadied herself with one hand on Itachi's stomach, the other on his thigh as she spread her knees wider. Beneath her, he rocked his hips up in time to her thrusts, his fingers tracing the sensitive skin of her hips and thighs.

Their bodies moved together perfectly, that easy rhythm stroking the fire between them. Sakura had woken Itachi early for this. She had gotten home from a late shift at the hospital only a few hours ago and she knew she needed sleep more than sex but she had wanted this more. She would be tired later but she couldn't complain. At least not about this.

Looking down, Sakura realized Itachi was doing it again. That one thing that drove her insane - and not in a good way.

She slowed her pace to a stop, her hips resting against his with his member buried deep inside her. "Stop doing that," she frowned.

He cocked his brow. "Doing what?"

"Touching me like I'm going to break," she said. She grabbed his hands and settled them fully on her hips before she bent down to kiss him. "My PE was two months ago. I'm fine. I'm healthy, Itachi. I'm not made of glass. Now show me that you want me or I'm going to stop."

Itachi met her gaze without speaking, like he knew he had been doing it and was inwardly debating about whether to stop or not. "Fine," he relented.

Then his hands tightened on her hips before he flipped them over. He pinned her to the bed with his weight, causing her to smirk with satisfaction. A moan took its place only a moment later when he pressed himself deeper. She didn't miss the smug look on his face before he picked up where she left off.

Itachi gave her three orgasms after that, just to ensure he got his point across. Her legs were like jello. She had to use him for support in the shower, that proud look still on his face.

As much as Sakura wanted to, she didn't go back to bed afterwards. She had an appointment before her first surgery and she was already running the risk of being late.

"I'll see you at the hospital?" Sakura asked, grabbing her keys.

Itachi slipped his shirt on and began fastening the buttons as he glanced at her. "Do not forget we have that transplant this afternoon."

A confused look passed her face before it cleared. "Oh, right. I have a consult after my ultrasound but I'll have enough time to catch up with you before then." She glanced at her phone. "Crap, I'm going to be late. I'll see you later."

She kissed him goodbye before she was gone. Only once the front door slammed behind her did Itachi pause.

_Wait, what ultrasound?_

##

Itachi cornered Sakura after she finished her consult. She was headed towards the breakroom, intent on grabbing a large cup of coffee when he grasped her arm and steered her to a quiet corner of the hall.

"Are you pregnant?" Itachi half-asked, half-demanded.

Sakura blinked, utterly blindsided. "Uh, what?"

"You just had an ultrasound with gynecology," he told her. "If you're expecting I want to know, Sakura. It's only right as the father that I help with the baby. I _want_ to help. I want to be there for you, in every sense of the word, including this."

Silence met his words as Sakura stared at him like he had grown a second head. Then understanding flooded her before her lips curved into a slowly growing smile. "I had my IUD replaced last week. It was causing me a little discomfort so they did an ultrasound to ensure it was in the right place."

It was Itachi's turn to blink. "You're not pregnant," he said, more to come to terms with the fact that all the worrying he had done that morning had been for nothing.

Smile still in place, she shook her head. "No. But I have to say seeing you fret is kinda endearing. Maybe I should get pregnant."

"You're laughing at me," Itachi frowned.

"I'm not laughing at you," she told him even as she laughed again. She raised herself onto her toes to place a quick kiss to his still-frowning lips. "I just love you."

Itachi was still looking a little disgruntled as he followed her to the nearby breakroom. Ino and Tenten were inside sitting at the provided table, each with a cup of coffee in hand. Sakura smiled at them without interrupting their conversation as she headed to the far wall.

"Although, don't you think we should get married before we have children?" Sakura asked teasingly as she filled a mug.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Itachi shrug as his pager went off. "So we will get married then," he said casually.

Sakura stilled when his words sunk in. Slowly she turned to look at him, wondering if she had just heard what she thought she had heard, but he wasn't looking at her. He was frowning down at his pager.

"I'm needed in the OR," Itachi said.

Then he was out the door, leaving Sakura standing there with her coffee half-made and her mouth partially agape. Still stunned, she glanced at Ino and Tenten. Both women paused mid-conversation to listen to Sakura's.

"Did he just...was that a…?" Sakura stumbled.

Ino openly smirked. "Sounded like it to me. Congratulations, forehead. I'm happy for you."

The blonde winked at her before she downed the rest of her coffee and strolled out of the breakroom. No doubt to go tell Shikamaru was had just happened. Sakura already knew the rest of the hospital would all know in the next few hours. After all, Sakura was finding herself as the source of most hospital gossip ever since that nurse had accidentally discovered her and Itachi napping together during her stay as a patient.

Sakura was still reeling when Tenten finally stood. "Maybe I should go stop her. At least until you talk to Itachi."

Still trying to pull her fraying thoughts together, Sakura nodded. But she wasn't given any more opportunity to think as her own pager sounded. She was needed in surgery too.

To her surprise, Sakura was called down to the same OR as Itachi. He was already scrubbed and inside with Kakashi. Both surgeons were hands-deep inside the patient, working quickly but effectively as the patient's stats continued to decline.

Sakura scrubbed before she joined them. "You paged both of us?" she asked Kakashi. "What's going on?"

"Car versus bicyclist," Kakashi told her. "This is the bicyclist."

"His artery is shredded," Itachi said to no one in particular. "Let's get him on bypass."

Without pause, Sakura stepped up to the table. All her other thoughts and concerns vanished as her focus turned to the patient in front of her. She didn't see or think of anything else beside what was in front of her.

Just as they had time and time again, Sakura fell into sync with Itachi. Where she suctioned, he sutured. Where he retracted, she patched. No words were exchanged. She already knew his next move and he hers.

"I have the updated scans, doctor," a nurse said, stepping into the room.

Without prompt, Sakura took over Itachi's work as he stepped away. The nurse held up one of the hospital's new tablets for him to review the patient's digital scans.

It was a new system the hospital had put into place after receiving a very generous donation from an anonymous donor. Sakura suspected it had been from Mikoto to apologize for the whole Sasuke-Izumi incident. Sakura had asked Itachi about it but if he knew, he wasn't telling.

Sakura finished double checking their work as Itachi stepped back to the table. "Everything looks good on our end. How are you doing, Hatake?"

Kakashi nodded. "As good as it's going to get for now. General will have to go back in later, but we can take him off bypass if you're ready."

Itachi glanced at Sakura. When she nodded, he gave the order to the rest of the staff.

The OR was quiet as they waited. Not uncomfortably so, but just idle as they all waited for the systems to switch over. The sudden lack of activity caused Sakura's thoughts to wander. Automatically her eyes fell to Itachi.

He noticed her gaze after a few moments. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No," Sakura quickly shook her head.

Still watching the monitors, he briefly glanced away to smirk at her through his mask. "I can feel you thinking from here. What is it?"

Kakashi's gaze turned to them then, mildly curious now as well. She had half a mind to just let it go, but her curiosity was burning stronger each passing second and they still had a minute or two before the machines shut off completely.

"Did you propose to me?" Sakura asked after a long pause.

Bewildered, Itachi turned to look at her fully. "What? When?"

"Just before surgery," Sakura said like it was obviously.

When Itachi just stared at her in honest confusion, she wished she had never said anything. She suddenly felt dumb for even bringing it up. A feeling that only grew stronger when Kakashi turned his head to peer at her more fully. The rest of the OR watched on silently as well.

Opening her mouth, Sakura was going to tell Itachi never mind - to end this conversation before she completely humiliated herself. Only before she could speak, stark understanding washed over him.

"Oh, _that_ ," Itachi said, like he honestly hadn't meant the words at the time. "I suppose I did." Then he cocked his brow. "Are you saying no?"

Shocked, Sakura stood there feeling much like the first time she had stepped inside an operating room - not exactly knowing what came next but still so excited. Warmth and unwavering affection for the man across from her filled her from her fingers to her toes.

She was unable to bite back her smile. "No."

"Then I guess that settles it," Itachi said. Even beneath his mask, she could see his own smile spreading across his face.

This was wholly and completely unprofessional but Sakura couldn't resist laughing as the OR suddenly burst out into applause. Kakashi looked like he much wanted to join in, but he merely chuckled and nodded his approval before he returned to his work.

Itachi was all Sakura saw.

She couldn't help but laugh a little as it suddenly occurred to her that this was the very same operating room where they had first officially met. Where they had argued and traded backhanded remarks before they fought like hell to save a patient. And now here they were again, doing the very same thing. Only now engaged and about the spend the rest of their lives together.

It all came full circle. Here in this room, where it happened.

_**end** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are together, where this story draws to its close. I'm strangely nostalgic about it. I loved writing this. You guys are so amazing. Thank you all for dropping me comments and love. I feel like we've all gone through quite the roller coaster together. But this isn't the last you will see of me. There are more stories out there to write and I hope to see you all there.
> 
> If you want to listen, 'Still Falling for You' by Ellie Goulding was the soundtrack to this fic.
> 
> Until the next one!


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